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, 261/2, 421/2.
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.
368. 4. Ardea exilis, Wils. Least Bittern.
Plate CCX. Male, Female, and Young.
Bill rather slender; feathers on the crown and occiput somewhat elongated and loose. Male with the upper part of the head, back, and tail, glossy greenish-black, some of the lateral feathers edged with white; sides of head and hind part of neck light chestnut; wing-coverts brownish-yellow; quills purplish-grey, tipped with yellowish-brown, inner secondaries broadly margined with light chestnut, of which colour also are the secondary coverts and edge of the wing at the flexure; throat and fore neck reddish-white, with a series of reddish-brown spots; fore part of breast, under the elongated feathers, blackish-brown; the rest of the lower parts reddish-white; tibia reddish-brown in front. Female smaller, with the colours duller, the upper part of the head inclining to brown. Young with the upper parts light brownish-red, variegated with brownish-yellow; primary quills and tail black.
Male, 131/2, 173/4. Female, 12, wing 143/4.
Resident in Florida. Migrates in spring eastward as far as Maine, and throughout the Western Country, far up the Missouri. Retires southward in winter. Texas.
Least Bittern, Ardea exilis, Wils. Amer. Orn. v. viii. p. 37.
Ardea exilis, Bonap. Syn. p. 308.
Least Bittern, Ardea exilis, Nutt. Man. v. ii. p. 66.
Least Bittern, Ardea exilis, Aud. Orn. Biog. v. iii. p. 77; v. v. p. 606.