ORNITHOLOGICAL CLUB, 43 
' the prairie in which they were reared, the remains of the nest in which 
they were hatched being pointed out by a farmer living near. 
9. Tantalus loculator, Linn. Wood Ibis. — ^^This species was very 
abundant in the vicinity of Mound City, on the Ohio, and Cape Girar- 
deau, on the Mississippi, the last of August, 1875. 
10. Nyctherodiua violaceus, Reich. Yellow-crowned Night- 
Heron. — “In my ‘Catalogue of the Birds ascertained to occur in Illinois > 
(p. 386), the Yellow-crowned Night-Heron is included as a ‘summer vis- 
itant to the extreme southern portion of the State,' and in my later ‘ Cata- 
logue of the Birds of the Lower Wabash Valley' it is given in the list of 
‘species found only in summer' (p. 26) as ‘common?' More recently, 
however, we have received information, in the shape of two fine adult spe- 
cimens shot from their nests, accompanied by an account of their capture, 
which confirms the breeding of the species in considerable numbers as far 
up the river as Mt. Carmel. The locality where they were found is a 
portion of bottom-land known as ‘ Coffee-flat,' where a small colony was 
found nesting by Mr. Samuel Turner and my brother, John L. Kidgway, 
on the 6th of May, 1874. Two fine adult specimens in their breeding 
plumage were obtained, as were also a few eggs. One nest is described as 
situated in a white-oak tree about sixty feet from the ground, on a branch 
four inches in diameter, twelve feet from the trunk of the tree, and upon 
so small a limb that the eggs could not be obtained. The nest was com- 
posed of sticks, the outer ones about half an inch in diameter, the in- 
terior ones finer, and so loosely put together that the eggs could be plainly 
seen through the nest. There were four eggs, and another ready to be 
laid was taken from the parent bird. The number of nests found in this 
locality is not stated in the letter, but another nest is mentioned which 
was upon a tree about fifty feet distant." 
11. Porzana noveboracensis, Cass. Yellow Bail. — Not very rare 
in the northern portion of the State, and without doubt breeds. 
12. Porzana jamaicensis, Cass. Black Bail. — A regular summer 
resident, and not very rare. During the spring of 1875 I saw three speci- 
mens in the Calumet Marsh ; and Mr. Frank De Witt of Chicago, while 
collecting with me near the Calumet Biver, June 19, 1875, was fortunate 
enough to find a nest of this species containing ten freshly laid eggs. 
The nest was situated in a deep cup-shaped depression, and in shape and 
situation resembled that of the Meadow Lark, except that the Bail's nest 
is much deeper in proportion to the diameter. The nest was more elab- 
orately made than the nest of any other of the genus I have seen. The 
outer portion is composed of grass-stems and blades, the inner portion 
of soft blades of grass arranged in a circular manner and loosely inter- 
woven. Owing to the small diameter of the nest there were two layers of 
eggs. The eggs are clear white, thinly sprinkled with reddish-brown 
dots, which become much more numerous about the large end. 
