Plate CCCXXXVII. Male and Female.
Feathers of the head and occiput elongated and loose; tail of ten
feathers; bill and feet dull yellowish-green; upper part of head
brownish-grey; a streak of pale buff on the eye; cheek and an oblique
band to the middle of the neck light brownish-yellow, beneath which a
dusky brown band from the base of the lower mandible, continuous with
a gradually enlarged band of black running along the sides of the
neck; upper parts yellowish-brown, patched, mottled, freckled, and
barred with dark-brown; most of the quills deep greyish-blue, tipped
with light reddish-brown; fore part of neck white above,
yellowish-white beneath, the throat with a middle longitudinal line of
yellowish-brown spots; on the rest of the neck each feather with a
light brown central mark edged with darker; the rest of the lower
parts dull yellowish-white, most of the feathers marked like those on
the neck. Female similar, but with the upper part of the head
reddish-brown.
_Male_, 27, 45. _Female_, 26-1/2, 42-1/2.
Winter resident in the Floridas. Migrates over most part of the United
States. Not seen in Kentucky. Abundant in Texas. Migratory.
American Bittern, Ardea minor, Wils. Amer. Orn. v. vii. p. 35.
Ardea minor, Bonap. Syn. p. 307.
American Bittern, Ardea lentiginosa, Swains. & Rich. F. Bor.
Amer. v. ii. p. 374.
American Bittern, Nutt. Man. v. ii. p. 60.
American Bittern, Ardea minor, Aud. Orn. Biog. v. iv. p. 296.