Smears from blood agar inoculated with infected bile and incubated overnight in a candle jar at 37[degree] C usually revealed large numbers of organisms although no visible growth was seen on the plates. Only 4 cases out of 173 (2.3%) without signs of hepatitis yielded vibrios. In another series of 110 bile samples from birds in cases positive for vibrios, 31.8% yielded vibrios on blood agar and 35.5% yielded vibrios in embryos. For practical purposes, blood agar was a satisfactory medium for culture of bile from field cases of avian vibrionic hepatitis. A blood agar culture of vibrios survived better and yielded more abundant growth on subculture after 14 days of storage in a candle jar in the refrigerator than in atmosphere in the refrigerator. Cultures did not survive in a candle jar or in atmosphere at room temperature. Viability of the isolate was maintained by 4 serial subcultures with storage between each transfer in a candle jar in the refrigerator for as long as 43 days. From 20 bile samples proven positive in parallel culture, brilliant-green blood agar medium yielded 2 more vibrio isolations and larger and more abundant organisms than blood agar. There was negligible contamination from the air, and greater ease of handling agar blocks. Bacteria in the bile grew equally well on either media. Six vibrio-infected bile samples diluted from 1:8 to 1:320 with physiological saline yielded detectable cultures of vibrios on brilliant-green blood agar at the highest dilution tested per sample.