80 LEAST BITTERN.
to the case, I leave for you to determine; but, my opinion is, that the
animal truly deserving to be called stupid, yet remains to be discovered,
and that the quality designated by that epithet occurs nowhere else than
among the individuals of that species which so thoughtlessly applies the
opprobrium. £ «di elsubrv
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AIIDEA EXILIS, Bonaparte, Synopsis of Birds of the United States, p. 308. ^ ^
LEAST BITTEEN-, ARDEA EXILIS, Wils. Amer. Ornith. vol. viiL p. 37- pi. 65. fig. 4 —
Nuttall, Manual, voL ii. p. 66.
Adult Male. Plate CCX. Fig. 1 .
Bill longer than the head, slender, straight, tapering to a point, deeper
than broad at the base, compressed towards the end. Upper mandible with
its dorsal line almost straight, the ridge broad and rather rounded at the
base, narrowed towards the end, the sides sloping, the edges very sharp,
the tip acute. Nasal groove long; nostrils basal, linear, longitudinal.
Lower mandible with the angle very long and narrow, the dorsal line
sloping upwards, the sides nearly flat, the edges sharp and inflected, the
tip very acute. s, 9iol odi Jo sisdtesft sdi Jod eralirafe
Head oblong, much compressed. Neck long. Body very slender,
much compressed. Feet long, rather robust; tibia nearly entirely feathered
; tarsi covered anteriorly with broad oblique scutella; toes scutellate
above; hind toe stout, second and fourth nearly equal, third much
longer ; claws long, slender, arched, compressed, acute, that of middle toe
serrated on the inner edge.
Eyelids and a large space before and beneath the eye, bare. Plumage
soft, blended; feathers of the hind head elongated, as are those of the
neck generally, but especially of its lower part anteriorly. Wings short,
broad, rounded, the second quill longest. Tail very short, rounded, of
twelve feathers.
Bill dark olive-brown above, edges of upper mandible and bare frontal
space yellow; lower mandible pale yellow, inclining to flesh colour.
Iris yellow. Feet dull greenish-yellow, claws brown. Upper part of the
head, and the back, greenish-black and glossy; sides of the head and
hind part of neck, brownish-red or bight chestnut; wing-cbverts pale
greyish-brown, quills purplish-grey, tipped with yellowish-brown, the inner
secondaries broadly margined with light chestnut, of which colour
also are the secondary coverts and the edge of the wing at the flexure;
LEAST BITTERN- Si
the tail greenish-black. The throat and fore neck are reddish-white; the
rest of the lower parts are of the same colour, excepting the fore part of
the breast, which is blackish-brown, the feathers tipped with reddish-yellow,
and the outer tibial feathers, which are reddish. In younger individuals
the fore neck is more or less spotted with light brown, as was the
case with that represented; but in old birds that part is unspotted.
Length to end of tail 131 inches, to end of claws 16; to end of wings
12j4
2 ; extent of wings 17f; wing from flexure 5£ ; tail 1 \ \ ; bill along
the ridge If, along the edge of lower mandible 2 | ; tarsus ljfa ; middle
toe 1J, its claw T%. Weight 4 | oz.
J Lift XOOrtaEL .abM *MA
Adult Female. Plate CCX. Fig. 2.
The Female is smaller, and differs considerably from the male in
colour. The bare parts and iris are the same. The upper part of the
head is reddish-brown, with a tinge of green; the back and scapulars are
dark chestnut, and there is a line of yellowish-white along each side of
the back, formed by the outer edges of the feathers. The rump is darker,
the tail bluish-black as in the male. In other respects the colouring is
similar, but the feathers of the fore neck and sides have each a narrow
central line of dark brown.
- Length to end of tail 12 inches; wing from flexure 4f ; tail I f ; bill
along the ridge If, along the edge of lower mandible 2-,V; tarsus 1^ ;
middle toe 1T
5
2 , its claw Weight Bg oz. ocfo otel
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Young in first plumage. Plate CCX. Fig. 3.
The young has the bill, eyes and feet, nearly of the same tints as the
old; but the upper parts of the plumage are generally of a light brownishred,
variegated with brownish-yellow; the primary quills and tail black.
In JJhffifela*SiX'|Be<5e've^ a l e t t e r f r o m m y friend JOHN BACHMAN, stating
that he had found this species breeding in considerable numbers on.
the plantation of JAMES II. SMITH, Esq. six miles east.of Charleston,
where he procured specimens both of the birds and of their eggs. MISMITH'S
sons had killed, in the course of a couple of weeks, not less than
fourteen of these diminutive Herons. He describes the nest as flat, composed
of pieces of dry rushes about a foot in length, and placed in a bunch
of Juncus effusus. The eggs were nearly white with a very light tinge
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