24 



ALTRICIAL GRALLATORES — HERODIONES. 



Hcrodias egretta, var. cali/ornica, Baikd, B. N. Am. 1858, 667 ; Cat. N. Am. B. 1859, no. 486 a. 

 Arclca Icucc, "Illiger," Light. Verz. Doubl. 1823, no. 793. 

 Ardca alba, subspec. gaJatca, Reichenow, J. f. 0. 1877, 272. 



Hab. The whole of temperate and tropical America, from Nova Scotia, Canada West, Minne- 

 sota, and Oregon, to Chili and Patagonia ; thronghont the West Indies. 



Sp. Char. Length, about 37.00-39.00 ; extent, about 55.00-57.00 ; wing, 14.10-16.80 ; tail, 

 5.60-7.30 ; culmen, 4.20-4.90 ; depth of bill, .70-.8() ; tarsus, 5.50-6.80 ; middle toe, 3.50-4.30 ; 

 naked portion of tibia, 3.50-4.50 ; weight, about 2| lbs. Color entirely pure white at all seasons 

 and at all ages. Bill and lores rich chrome-yellow (the latter sometimes tinged with light green), 

 the culmen usually black near the tip, sometimes nearly the entire maxilla black ; iris naples- 

 yellow ; legs and feet entirely deep black. 



Having specimens before us from all parts of its range, w^e are unable to detect in this species 

 any variations of a geographical nature. The chief difterence between individuals consists in the 



amount of black on the maxilla, this being sometimes almost nil, while again the maxilla may be 

 entirely black. That this variation has no relation to season is shown by the fact that in a consid- 

 erable .series shot from one " rookery " in Florida, and all bearing the nuptial train, the extremes 

 are presented by different individuals, others being variously intermediate. 



The American Egret may be easily enough distinguished from that of Europe (if. alba) by its 

 smaller size, jet-black instead of pale flesh-colored legs, brighter yellow bill, etc. ; but I have thus 

 far been unsuccessful in my search for characters which will serve always to distinguish the 

 Australian Egret from H. egretta. Australian specimens agree w'ith the latter in black legs and 

 feet (though the tibiae are said to be pale dull yellow), yellow bill, and smaller size. A single 

 specimen in nuptial plumage has the train short, like H. alba ; but a Florida example of H. egretta 

 differs in no respect whatever, that I can see, except measurements ; and in this respect the dis- 

 crejtancy is much less than between examples of H. egretta shot at the same time in the same 

 locality ! Following are the measurements of the two specimens in question : — 



^0. 71567, H. syrmatophortis, 14.50 4.50 6.25 3.65 

 'No. 7 352i, H. egretta, 15.50 4.50 6.00 3.85 



New South Wales. 

 Florida. 



It is possible, however, that a larger series of H. syrmatophorus than the one which I have been 

 able to examine might show differences which have as yet escaped my notice. 



The Great White Egret of America has an extended distribution, breeding through- 

 out North America as far as New Jersey, on the Atlantic coast, in the interior as far 

 north as Southern Illinois, and throughout South America, almost to Patagonia. It 

 is a great wanderer, and stragglers have been met with from the Straits of Magellan 

 to Nova Scotia, and from the Atlantic to the Pacific, where it is fovind as far to the 

 north as the Columbia River, and probably beyond. In midsummer it wanders to 



