April 1985] ShortCommunications 413 American passerine birds in the nesting cycle. central coastalCalifornia. Unpublished M.S. the- Ornithol. Monogr. 9: 1-76. sis,Berkeley, California, Univ. California. WILLIAMS,P. L. 1982. A comparisonof colonial and non-colonial nesting by Northern Orioles in Received27 April 1984,accepted 16 November1984. The First RecordedCory's Bittern (lxobrychus "neoxenus")from South America DANTE MARTINS TEIXEIRA• AND HERCULANO M. F. ALVARENGA2 •MuseuNacional, Rio de Janeiro(R J), CEP 20942, Brazil,and 2RuaColdmbia 99, Taubat[ (SP), CEP 12100, Brazil Describedby Cory (1886), Ixobrychus"neoxenus" is ochraceous,and all previously described I. "neoxe- considereda variant morph of the Least Bittern (Ixo- nus" have been adults. brychuse. exilis),characterized by contrasting dark Bent (1926) considered I. "neoxenus"to be an ex- chestnutunderparts and blackishupperparts. About ample of melanismand erythrism, and a comparison 30 specimensare known, mostlyfrom southernFlor- of our specimen with typically colored I. exiliseryth- ida and Ontario, but there are also records from Mas- romelasseems to point to hyperpigmentation.Indeed, sachusetts,New York, Ohio, Illinois, Michigan, and a superproductionof eumelanins and phaeomelanins Wisconsin (Bent 1926, Hancock and Elliot 1978). Thus, perhapscould explain the deep blackishtinges of the it was quite a surprisefor us to obtain a specimenof upperparts and the rufous chestnut color of the the SouthAmerican Ixobrychus exilis erythromelas in foreneck,breast, etc. observedin this unusualplum- this rather uncommonplumage. Apparently, this is age (Vevers 1964). the first time this morph has been reportedoutside As mentioned above, I. "neoxenus" is considered a North America. rare morph, and our observations in southeastern The bird was collectedon 13 May 1967 in the rice Brazil seem to reinforce this supposition.Although fields of the Paraibado Sul drainage,county of Tau- I. exilis erythromelasis common in the rice fields of bat•, S•o Paulo (approx.23ø01'S, 45ø33'W), southeast- Taubat&,only one specimenin the "neoxenus"plum- ern Brazil. In this area, "normal" colored I. exilis age has been recorded after almost 20 yr of obser- erythromelasare common, as are other herons such as vation. In addition, our field research in coastal Rio I. involucris,Botaurus pinnatus, Butorides striatus, Cas- de Janeiro and in Alagoas has never revealed any merodiusalbus, and Egrettathula. Another species,Bu- other specimenin this peculiar coloration.Thus, it is bulcus ibis, has been recorded as a recent invader of impossibleto evaluate if the "neoxenus"morph has, the surroundingdry pastures.The specimencollect- in Brazil, a local occurrence or not, as was observed ed wasa youngmale, with nonossifiedskull and very in the North American Least Bittern. small gonads. Its stomach contained a small, 50-mm We would like to thank the Conselho Nacional de long characid(Tetragonopterinae) and unidentified DesenvolvimentoCientifico e Tecno16gico(CNPq), seedsof a monocotyledon. which partially supportedour studieson Brazilian Like normal-coloredI. exiliserythromelas, this spec- birds. imen in the neoxenusplumage showeda light yellow iris and yellowish bare lores, but its bill was blackish LITERATURE CITED brown and the tarsus brownish, without yellow tinges. The plumage agreed more or less with the BENT,A. C. 1926. Life history of North American descriptionof Sharpe (1898), but some conspicuous marsh birds. Smithsonian Inst., Bull. U.S. Natl. differenceswere observed: the specimendid not show Mus. 135: 84-91. any greenish or bronze glossin the blackishparts of CORY,C.B. 1886. Descriptionof a new North Amer- the plumage, and its secondarieswere plain black ican speciesof Ardetta. Auk 3: 262, 408. without rufous. The ashy black feathers of nape, HANCOCK,J., & H. ELLIOT. 1978. Herons of the world. hindneck, back, and rump were fringed with ochra- London, London Editions Ltd. ceousto light gray, giving the bird a discretescaled SHARPE, g. B., • W. g. OLGIVIE-GRANT. 1898. Cata- appearance.The sidesof upper breast,thigh, center logue of birds in the British Museum, vol. 26. of abdomen,and crissumwere ashy black, rather London, Brit. Mus. of Nat. Hist. washed out, and marked with deep, dark chestnut VEVERS,G. 1964. Colour. Pp. 142-144 in The new rather than dusky rufous.These differences (at least dictionary of birds (L. Thomson, Ed.). London, the scaledupperparts) probably are relatedto age,as Nelsons and Sons. the youngof normal-coloredI. exiliserythromelas also show the upperpartsinconspicuously barred with Received20 August1984, accepted 16 November1984. .