258 KEY TO THE WATER BIRDS OF FLORIDA. 
Genus NYCTICORAX SrerHens. 
Suscenus NYCTICORAX, 
NYCTICORAX NYCTICORAX NAEVIUS (Bodd.). 
Black-crowned Night Heron. 
Crown, head, back, and scapulars greenish black; forehead, lores, most of the neck and under 
parts white or ashy white. Wings and tail gray; legs and feet yellow; two or three very long 
occiputal,plumes, white, in the breeding season. 
Length, 24 to 26; Wing, 11; Tarsus, 3.10 to 3.40; Tail, 4.20 to 5.30. 
The immature bird has the general plumage mottled dark brown and gray, the feathers 
marked and streaked with pointed blotches of grayish or buff; outer web of primaries buff 
color; under parts streaked with black and white. 
This species occurs on the Atlantic coast from Canada to South America 
and has been recorded from the West Indies. It is common in Florida. 
The nest is a mass of sticks generally built in trees or low bushes, rarely on 
the ground. All the nests that I personally have found have been built in 
trees or bushes. The eggs are four to six in number and pale blue. 
