86 Birds of Colorado 
up from the decomposed plumes developed only in the 
breeding season. Both birds were formerly to be found 
in millions in Florida and along the Gulf coast; now, 
except in a few specially protected United States bird- 
reservations, the care of which has been assumed by the 
National Audubon Society, they are practically ex- 
terminated. 
Genus DICHROMANASSA. 
Egrets of medium size, wing 12—14, with very short toes, the 
middle one barely half the length of the tarsus; feathers of the head 
and neck slightly elongated and a dorsal train in breeding season ; 
plumage dichromatic with two distinct colour phases independent of 
age, sex or season. 
One North American species. 
Reddish Egret. Dichromanassa rufescens. 
A.O.U. Checklist no 198—Colorado Records—Cooke 97, pp. 61, 157. 
Description.—Adult, dark phase—Head and neck rufous-chestnut 
glossed with vinaceous ; rest of the plumage dark slaty ; decomposed 
plumes from the interscapular region reaching beyond the tail; iris 
white, bill flesh-coloured, terminal two-thirds black ; legs blue-black. 
Length 31; wing 13-5; tail 4-5; culmen 4:0; tarsus 6-0. 
In the white phase the plumage is white throughout with a slight 
speckling of grey on the primaries. Young birds of either phase are 
similar, but without the decomposed plumes. 
Distribution.—Florida, the Gulf states, and Lower California south 
to Guatemala and the West Indies ; a casual wanderer north to Illinois 
and Colorado. 
There is a single example—a young bird of the dark phase—in the 
Aiken collection, taken in 1875 near Colorado Springs. Another is 
said by Cooke to have been shot by E. L. Berthoud near Golden in 
about 1890. These are the only known occurrences in the State. 
Genus BUTORIDES. 
Small Herons with wings under 8-0; bill moderate, longer than the 
tartus; tail with twelve feathers; an occipital crest of lengthened, 
lanceolate, but not decomposed, feathers; upper-parts glossy green. 
A wide-spread genus, found all over the New World, and most of 
the Old except Europe and Northern Asia. Only one species in North 
America. 
