BIRDS OF THE BAHAMA ISLANDS. 
169 
down the front of the neck; under parts, white; rump, white, con- 
cealed by the pale purplish plumes of the back ; tail and wings, slaty 
blue, the outer feathers of the former somewhat pale at the base ; 
more than terminal third of bill black, the rest sky blue , shading into 
lilac at the base, the latter color extending to the eye; legs, slate- 
color; iris, red. 
Length 24, wing 10, tail 3, tarsus 4, bill 4.35. 
This species is very nearly allied to A. leucogastra var. leuco- 
prymna, the main point of difference between them being in the bill. 
The plumage of the Bahama bird is also somew r hat darker, and the 
legs and feet slate-color. These features were constant in every 
specimen taken. That this coloration of the bill is not simply 
during a high stage of plumage is shown by the fact that Audu- 
bon and other writers who found the Louisiana Heron breeding, 
described the bill as black and yellow. During the summer months 
these birds were very abundant at Inagua, and upon our arrival in 
May, we found them breeding in large communities near Roller 
Key. They were not at all shy, and we procured a large number of 
specimens, all of which had the same peculiar coloration of the bill. 
The nest is a rough construction of sticks, generally built within a 
few feet of the water, and contains from two to four eggs of a 
pale blue color. None were observed on any of the other islands, 
although I looked carefully for it everywhere. 
