50 WADING BIRDS. 



coast, nearly from the Isthmus of Darien to the estuary of 

 the St. Lawrence, generally omitting, however, the maritime 

 range of the central parts of New England.* It arrives in 

 the United States from the south early in April, and parties, 

 passing inland, at length proceed up the valley of the Mis- 

 sissippi, and even ascend the borders of the Arkansa, thus 

 pursuing an extensive inland route to their final destination 

 in the wilds of Canada. After raising their brood, they de- 

 part from the middle states, towards their hybernal destina- 

 tion in the south, in the course of the month of October. 



Like most of the summer visiters of this family, the Snowy 

 Heron confines its residence to the salt marshes, where its 

 brilliant whiteness renders it a conspicuous object at a dis- 

 tance. Its food, as usual, consists of small crabs, w^orms, 

 snails, frogs, and lizards, to which fare it also adds at times 

 the seeds of the pond lilies and other aquatic plants. About 

 the middle of May they commence to breed, and Wilson 

 describes one of these heronries situated in a sequestered 

 clump of red cedars, at Summer's Beach, on the coast of 

 Cape May. The spot chosen, with the usual sagacity of 

 the tribe, was separated on the land side by a fresh water 

 pond, and sheltered from the view of the Atlantic by ranges 

 of sand hills. The cedars, though low, were so densely 

 crowded together as scarcely to permit a passage through 

 them. Some of the trees contained three or four nests in 

 each, constructed wholly of sticks. The eggs, about 3 

 in number, were of a pale greenish blue color, and measured 

 one inch and three quarters in length. On approaching the 

 premises, the birds silently rose in great numbers, and alight- 

 ing on the tops of the neighboring trees, they appeared to 

 watch the result of the intruding visit in silent anxiety. 



* I have seen a specimen of an individual which came on board a vesssel nearly 

 off xNautiicket, probably migrating directly to the south, outside the land. Though 

 extremely lean and emaciated, it refused all food. 



