BIRDS OF PORTO RICO. 21 



BLACK-CROWNED NIGHT HERON. Nycticorax nycticorax ncevius (Boddaert). 

 Yaboa, Yaboa Real. 



The black-crowned night heron was apparently fairly common at one time in 

 Porto Rico, though there are no recent records of its occurrence. Sundevall 

 (1869, p. 602) received a single specimen from Hjalmarson, and Gundlach 

 (1874, p. 313) records it as in Hjalmarson's collection in Arecibo. Gundlach 

 also (1878a, pp. 161, 187) notes specimens taken by himself and says (1878, 

 p. 362) that is was not rare. Stahl (1883, p. 150) had five specimens in his 

 collection. Beyond this nothing is known of its occurrence. 



LITTLE GREEN HERON. Butorides virescens virescens (Linnaeus). 



Martinete. 



A specimen of the little green heron in the United States National Museum, 

 taken at Pajardo, February 16, 1899, by A. B. Baker, has been identified by 

 Oberholser (1912a, p. 540) as this subspecies. This is the only record at 

 present for the West Indies. 



CUBAN GREEN HERON. Butorides virescens cuoanus Oberholser. (Plates III and IV.) 

 Martinete, Aguai^a-Caiman. 



The Cuban green heron is one of the commonest birds in Porto Rico and is 

 distributed all through the coastal plain. On the northwest coast at Quebra- 

 dillas and along the south coast in the dry regions they frequent the borders of 

 streams mainly, though found occasionally in dry upland pastures (Quebra- 

 dillas). The irrigated lands of the south coast are peculiarly adapted to their 

 needs, and along ditches and channels in the fields they feed in abundance. 

 In the lagoon region their centers of distribution were in the mangroves and 

 swamps, and from these they spread into the surrounding cultivated lands. 

 At Yabucoa they fairly swarmed in such localities and did an incalculable 

 amount of good. After the breeding season they seem to wander inland. On 

 Vieques they were tolerably common about the lagoons, but only a few were 

 seen on Culebra. May 8, at Yabucoa, the number seen was estimated at be* 

 tween 1,500 and 2,000, all breeding adults. 



Clumps of bamboos along streams were favorite perches. To these growths 

 numbers retired to escape the burning heat of the midday sun, and in many 

 localities they were used as nesting sites. Most of these birds, however, still 

 nest in the mangroves and swampy growths bordering lagoons and lowland 

 streams. 



The breeding season extends from the first of February to the end of May 

 and the young are well grown by July 1. The nests are simple structures of 

 sticks. One examined May 8 near Yabucoa contained three fresh eggs of a pale 

 greenish color marked with lime deposits on the shell. 



Green herons are nearly always tame, unsuspicious birds, and seldom fly 

 until closely approached, except in regions where they are much hunted. When 

 they do flush, they rise with a series of squawking notes and before going far 

 light on the ground again, on a fence post, or the limb of a tree. Sometimes 

 they endeavor to escape notice by drawing the body up, pointing the bill straight 

 in the air and presenting the striped breast to the observer. In feeding they 

 follow slowly along the borders of marshes and lagoons, never wading in deeper 

 water, as do the larger long-legged herons, or follow along the rows in the culti- 

 vated cane fields. Open pastures are favorite localities also, and here they 

 work through the short grass, preferring low damp localities, but not neglecting 

 those high and dry. Unless very hungry they are rather sluggish, and fre- 

 quently spend an hour or more standing motionless with the neck drawn in. 



The ordinary note is a harsh squawk, though frequently after alighting 

 ttiey give a clucking note, while a note of anger may be represented by kek 



