LEAST BITTERN. Ixobrychus exilis exilis (Gmelin)

Field characters.—Our smallest Heron; little larger than Killdeer; bill and legs long and slender. Male: Top of head and whole back greenish black; flight feathers dull black; sides of neck reddish brown; whole under surface mixed white and light tan color. Female: similar, but top of head and back dark reddish brown.

Occurrence.—One instance: a male obtained at a pond at mouth of Rush Creek, Mono Lake, June 3, 1916. Frequents tule marshes.

The single specimen of this elusive species obtained by our party, as detailed above, was the only one seen anywhere. Its weight was 66 grams (about 2.3 ounces). It is of interest to compare this weight with the 475 grams (about 17 ounces) of the American Bittern and the 1530 grams (3.4 pounds) of the Great Blue Heron. In other words, the Great Blue Heron is 23 times the size of its smallest relative, the Least Bittern.