248 KEY TO THE WATER BIRDS OF FLORIDA. 
under parts tawny white; feathers edged with dusky and dull brown; legs greenish yellow; a 
loral stripe of dark brown; bill yellowish with a dark streak at the top. 
Length, 27; Wing, 11.50; Bill, 3; Tarsus, 3.40. 
The female is smaller than the male and the bird varies very much in size. 
It ranges throughout temperate North America and is common on the 
Atlantic coast, breeding, as a rule, north of North Carolina. It ranges in 
winter south to Central America and the West Indies, being common in 
Florida in some localities. 
The eggs are usually from three to five in number, grayish brown in 
color. 
Genus ARDETTA Gray. 
ARDETTA EXILIS (Gmel.). 
Least Bittern. 
Adult male: Crown of the head black, extending into a small 
crest; back and tail black with a greenish tinge back of the neck; 
wing coverts chestnut brown; some of the wing coverts tawny yellow; 
Sront and sides of the neck and under parts yellowish brown, show- 
ing white on throat; a patch of brownish black on the sides of the 
breast; bill yellowish, dusky on the top; legs green, yellow on the 
back; toes yellow. 
Adult female; Waving the back and crown purplish chestnut in- 
stead of black. 
Length, 12.50; Wing, 4.50; Bill, 2; Tarsus, 2.10. 
This species ranges from temperate North America 
southward to the West Indies and Northern South 
America. 
It breeds along the Atlantic coast nearly throughout 
its range. It is common in Florida where it breeds, being very abundant in 
some localities. 
The nest is placed in a bunch of reeds or rushes, sometimes on small 
bushes. 
The eggs are from four to six, pale bluish white. I have found as many 
as a dozen nests of this species within a distance of fifty yards on some of 
the small Florida ponds, but it seems to be local, as many ponds in the same 
locality, seemingly equally suitable, did not contain a single individual. 
