NOTES ON ARDEA WUERDEMANNI BAIRD.
Ity KOItfl^KT a?II><;\VAV.Haviug been euabled to examine eiyljt additional examples of thislittle-kuowu bird, 1 desire to ofl'er the tollo\vin<;- remarks concerningtbem :
?
Three of the specimens in question are the property of the NationalMuseum, having- been purchased from Mr. R. C. Stuart, of Tampa, Fla.Four were kindly loaned for examination by Mr. Charles B. Cory, ofBoston, and one was furnished for the same purpose by Mr. Stuart. Allwere obtained by Mr. Stuart in December, 1880, on the keys near CapeSable.With a single exception (to be particularly noted further on), they allclosely resemble the type specimen obtained about thirty years agonear Cape Sable by Mr. G. Wiirdemanu, differing only in unimportantdetails of coloration, as follows:(a) Xo. 110210, Nat. Mus., adult male. Dusky streaks on foreheadmuch less distinct and less numerous, and black streaks on fore-neckalso smaller and sparser; lower parts immaculate white, except onbreast, which is broadly streaked, as in the type; thighs i)aler cinna-mon-rusty ; bluish gray of upper parts and ecru-drab of neck also de-cidedly paler *(6) No. 110211, Nat. Mus., adult female. Very much like the preced-ing, but neck still paler and much tinged with rusty in middle portion,and forehead and fore-neck more broadly and conspicuously streaked,almost exactly as in the type; shoulder-tufts or "epaulets" much morebroadly striped with white, and with the black portions partly replacedon some feathers by rusty ; middle line of belly striped with black, asin type ; longer lower tail-coverts marked near tip with a pair of oblongspots or broad streaks (one on each web) of dusky slate.(c) No. 8010, coll. C. B. Cory, adult female. Forehead immaculatewhite, and crown with only a few indistinct streaks, but sides of occiputmarked with a few blackish broad streaks or dashes ; lower i)arts almostimmaculate white, there beiug only a few narrow streaks of dark slatybrown on the breast.{(l) No. 8011, coll. C. B. C, adult male. Exactly like the type, exceptthat on each side of theoccii)ut there is a i)atch of blackish (somewhatbroken by white streaks), about l.oO inches in length by .50 wide atbroadest part.
* The type (litters from all other speciuieus examined in clecitledly darker color ofthe neck, and darker, dingier color of back, wings, etc. The si?ecimen is very old,however, and it is very likely that these peculiarities in coloration are more or lessdue to the suli'usion of grease from the skin.11-2
ItieT] PROCEEDINGS OF UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM. 113{?) Xo. 8009, 0. B. C, adult male. Similar to type, but forehead morethickly streaked with blackish, the latter formiug almost a patch cover-iug median portiou of forehead; sides of crown aud occiput SDeckled ortouched with dusky brownish ; thighs paler cinnamon, and cinnamonon edge of wing also paler.(/) No. 8012, C. B. C, adult male. Head and under surface of bodyas in type ; thighs much paler cinnamon, almost cinnamon-buff on innerside.{g) Specimen belonging to E. C. Stuart, Tampa, Fla. In colorationsimilar to specimen a, but neck paler, with color grading more graduallyinto white anteriorly, the black streaks down fore-neck rather larger;thighs colored as in specimen b. The two longer under tail-co\ erts withan oblong blotch or spot of black near tip ; the lower parts are almostentirely white, there being a few very faint narrow streaks of grayishon belly and broader streaks or stripes of brownish gray (not black) onbreast. There is a slight tinge of light rusty on neck, but much lessdistinct than in si)ecimen b. ?{h) No. 110G67, Nat. Mus., adult male. This is clearly intermediatebetween A. wuerdemanni and A. wardi and may possibly be a hybridbetween the two. The forehead and middle of crown, also long occip-ital feathers, are immaculate white ; the longest occipital plume, how-ever, is black, except for about 2 inches of its terminal portion ; thesides of the crown aud occiput are black, forming a nearly uniformspace about 2^ inches long by half an inch wide at widest part; theepaulets are black, many of the feathers, however, streaked medialywith white or with much of the basal portion white. The lower partsare chiefly immaculate white, as in specimen c, but the sides are chieflyblack.It would thus appear that leaving out the specimen last described,which may be a hybrid, the characters of A. wuerdemanni are not onlyvery pronounced but also fairly constant. They may be briefly statedas follows
:
(1) Head entirely white, excepting (usually) dusky or blackish streakson forehead or median jjortion of the crown, but even these sometimesabsent.(2) Shoulder-tufts or epaulets broadly striped with white, aud withblack portions of the feathers sometimes partially replaced by rusty.(3) Lower parts chiefly white, sometimes only the breast beingstreaked with dusky.(4) Lowermost middle (and sometimes greater) wing coverts markedwith a median streak of white (this sometimes occupying a consider-able portion of the outer web).(5) Outer pair of tail-feathers with a well-defined wedge-shaped markoccupying basal half (approximately) of outer web.Placing a large series of A. herodias, A. icardi, and A. louerdemanniin a row, in the order named, it is seen at a glance that the first twoProe. N. M. 87 8
114 NOTES ON ARDEA WUERDEMANNI.
agree iu the darker, more plumbeous, shade of the gray, that of thelast uamed being of a much lighter or more ashy shade; herodias amiwardi agr^e also in the pattern of coloration of the head (which has thewhole forehead and center of crown immaculate pure white, the occiputand sides of crown to considerably in front of the eye deep black) ; inhaving the epaulets or shoulder-knots entirely black (or, rarely, nar-rowly streaked with white), and in having the lower wing-coverts uni-form gray ; in having the breast, belly, and anal region black, stripedwith white, chiefly along the median line. A. ivucrdemaimi , on theother hand, has the head white,^usually more or less streaked on theforehead with black or dusky, and sometimes, though very rarely, withmore or less of a blackish patch or space on sides of crown, beneath edgeof the crest, all the feathers of which are white ; the snoulder-knots arebroadly striped with white, and tinged more or less with rusty ; thelowermost wing-coverts (near edge of wing) have more or less of theirouter webs white and are often tinged with rusty ; the breast, belly,and anal region are white, the last entirely so and the other two streakedor narrowly striped with black or brownish gray, even these markingsbeing sometimes wanting. I have never seen in specimens of herodiasor icardi any tinge or admixture of rusty on the sides of the neck, whichis frequently seen in wuerdetnanni, nor is the white wedge-shaped spaceon basal portion of outer web of outer tail-feather nearly so extensive,if, indeed, it be at all developed.What relationship Ardea wuerdemanni bears to A. occidentalis and A.icardi the material examined does little toward elucidating. It wouldseem to be a permanent form, however, and, if not a color-phase of A.occidentalis, is probably a distinct species. It has been met with by Mr.C. J. Maynard, who, in his "Birds of Eastern North America"* (pp.407, 408), mentions it as follows:"The Florida Herons have long been a puzzle to ornithologists, butthat such a species exists is now proved beyond a doubt, though theyare far from being common, and are, I believe, restricted to the FloridaKeys, or, at best, are mere stragglers on the mainland ; but I do notthink that a well-authenticated specimen has ever been taken there,those which are considered this species being merely Great Blue Herons,with dark streaks on the forehead for at least two instances of thiskind have come under my notice. Some writers on the subject areinclined to dispose of the Florida Herons by considering them merelya plumage of the Great White, but I greatly fear that such conclusionsrest too much upon purely theoretical grounds. It is true that it hasbeen alleged that birds of both species have been found in one nest,
* The Birds | of | Eastern North America; | with original descriptions | of all thespecies which occur | East of the Mississippi Rivei-, | between the | Arctic Circle andthe Gulf of Mexico, | with full notes upon their habits, etc., j by | C. J. Maynard; |containing | Thirty-two plates drawn en stone by the Author. | Revised edition. | New-tonville, Mass.: I C. J. Maynard & Co. | 1881. | [Quarto; title-page, pp. iii-iv, 1?532, 3 colored steel plates, 29 colored lithographic plates.]
1887.] PROCEEDINGS OF UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM. 115and without doubt this is a fact; yet it proves nothing, unless, indeed,the nestlings were too small to go about much, for any one who isfamiliar with Florida heronries knows that the young birds leave thenest almost as soon as fledged, and walk over the branches, and if sud-denly surprised will squat in the nearest nest. I was once ujion anisland, during the last week in April, which was covered with a densegrowth of high mangroves and buttonwood, on which Great BlueHerons, Florida and Great White were breeding ; but I did not find theyoung mixed at all, simply because they were too small to move about,but this might not have been the case two weeks later. The flightof this fine Heron resembles that of the Great Blue, being regular with*each flapi^ing of the wings, greatly prolonged. They breed on the Keysand, I think, always prefer high trees."Mr. Maynard apparently collected several specimens, since he givesaverage and extreme measurements, as quoted below; but what be-came of them I do not know. He also found nests and eggs, which hedescribes as follows
:
^^Nests placed on trees and composed of sticks, somewhat looselyarranged. Uggs^ two or three in number, varying from ellii^tical to ovalin form, pale bluish green in color, unspotted. Dimensions from 1.80by 2.60 to 1.85 by 2.90."He gives measurements as follows
:
"Average measurements of specimens from Florida: Length, 49.50;stretch, 74.50 ; wing, 20.50 ; tail, 7.75 ; bill, 6.50 ; tarsus, 8.25. Longestspecimen, 50.00; greatest extent of wing, 75.00; longest wing, 21.00;tail, 8.00 ; bill, 7.00 ; tarsus, 8.25. Shortest specimen, 48.00 ; smallestextent of wing, 74.00 ; shortest wing, 20.00 ; tail, 7.50 ; bill, 5.95 ; tar-sus, 7.95."In the same work (page 409) he says that A. occidentalis was foundby him on the Florida Keys in great abundance, one small key being" comi>letely covered with their nests." Yet " they were all snowy white,not a colored specimen of any species being among them ; nor werethere any among the young left behind, for I carefully examined everynest, as they were all built low."Measurements of the specimens examined, including the type, are asfollows
:
Mu-seumNo.
8690*1102101102118009801080118012
Collection.
Nat. Mus
....dc...
...do ....C.B.C...
....do ....
...do ....
....do ....R.C.S...
Sexand Locality.
cfaa.d-ad.$ad.rfad.?ad.rfad.9 ad.ad.
"South Florida"Near Cape Sable.do
....do
....do
...do
....do
....do
Date. Wing.
Dec. ?
,
Dec. ?Dec. ?Dec. ?Dec. ?Dec. ?Dec.
21.0019.0019.0019.0018. 7520.0019. 0020.00Average ; 19. 47
" Type.