Plate XL VIII. 



TIGRISOMA CABANISL 



(CABANIS' TIGEE-BITTEEN). 



Tigrisoma cabanisi 

 Ardea cabanisi 

 Tigrisoma tigrinum 



Tigrisoma orasiliense 



Heine, Journ. f. On. 1859, p. 407. 

 Schl. Mus. d. P. B. Ardece, p. 51. 

 Scl. P.Z.S. 1858, p. 359 ; 1860, p. 253. 

 G. C. Taylor, Ibis, 1859, p. 151. 

 Scl. & Salv. Ibis, 1859, p. 226. 

 Salv. Ibis, 1865, p. 191. 

 Moore, P.Z.S. 1859, p. 63. 



Supra nigricanti-olivaceum, fulvescente fasciolatum : pileo -nigro, capitis lateribus cinereis : alis caudaque 

 ccerulescenti-nigris, primariis albo terminatis : subtus gutture toto nudo, cervice et pectore nigricantibus sicut in dorso, 

 sed latins fulvescente transfasciolatis ; cervice media (utrinque nigro marginata) cum abdomine toto fulvescenti-rufis • 

 rostro nigricante, hujus basi viridescenti-flavo, pedibus obscure olivaceis : long, tota 28-0, alse 14-0, caudaj 60, tarsi 44,' 

 rostri a rictu 5-5.— Junior, supra omnino fulvo et nigricante transradiatus, alis caudaque plumbeo-nigricantibus albo' 

 transfasciatis ; subtus dilutior, sordido cinnamomeo et nigro transfasciatus, fasciis in ventre latioribus et minus 

 frequentibus. 



Sab. in Mexico meridionali ; Guatemala, et Honduras. 



This Bittern has, until recently, been confounded with its southern representative Tigrisoma 

 brasiliense, from which, however, it may be at once distinguished by its wholly bare throat, 

 a character which is possessed by no other American representative of the genus. In addition 

 to this there are conspicuous differences between the plumages of the two species, the head in 

 the present bird being black instead of rufous, and the whole upper plumage generally of a 

 darker character, while the abdomen is dark cinnamomeous instead of rufous-grey, and wants 

 the black and white marks on the flanks. In short, the differences between the two allies are 

 so conspicuous that it would not be possible to confound them on comparison. Such then being 

 its distinguishing characters, it is strange, indeed, that this species should have been mistaken 

 for T. brasiliense, yet most authors who have mentioned the Central American bird, have 

 assigned to it the name of T. tigrinum, under which the young of T. brasiliense has been usually 

 denominated. Herr Ferdinand Heine, Junior, was the first to discover this mistake, and in 

 the "Journal fur Ornithologie" for the year 1859, described and named the northern species 

 after Dr. J. Cabanis, his coadjutor in the latter portion of the well known work the " Museum 

 Heineanum." This name is adopted by Dr. Schlegel, as quoted above. 



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