Snowy Egret 85 



Snowy Egret. Egretta candidissima . 



A.O.U. Checklist no 197 — Colorado Records — Hersey 76, p. 430 ; 

 Morrison 89, p. 166 ; H. G. Smith 96, p. 65 ; Cooke 94, p. 183 ; 97, pp. 

 61, 157, 198 ; Henderson 03, p. 234 ; 09, p. 227 ; Warren 06, p. 19 ; 08, 

 p. 20 ; 09, p. 13 ; Cary 09, p. 180 ; Hersey & Rockwell 09, p. 114. 



Description. — Phimage white throughout, with decomposed plumes 

 on the occiput, lower-neck and scapulars, the latter recurved when 

 perfect ; iris bare, space on face and toes yellow, bill, legs and claws 

 black. Length 24 -0 ; wing 11-0; tail 4 -0 ; culmen 3 '5 ; tarsus 4 -0. 



The adults after the breeding season lack the decomposed plumes. 



Distribution.— From Long Island and Oregon south tlirough the West 

 Indies and Central America to the Argentine ; breeding throughout its 

 range, but only a simimer resident in the middle states. 



In Colorado the Snowy Egret is a somewhat scarce sumnjer bird. 

 It was first noticed by J. C. Hersey, who reported the capture 

 of a sohtary specimen in a small lake thirty miles north-west of 

 Denver, May 4th, 1876. It is less uncommon than usually supposed, 

 but has not yet been found breeding. L. T. Hersey and Rockwell 

 noticed it at Barr or several occasions in April, May and June, but 

 failed to find the nest. It is chiefly met with along the eastern base 

 of the mountains, but has been taken as high as Twin Lakes and Lead- 

 ville, and was also on the western slopes at Glenwood (Carter). 



Other recorded locaHties are, near Denver (H. G. Smith), Loveland, 

 Fort Collins and Pueblo (Cooke), Colorado Springs (Aiken), SaUda, 

 spring and fall (Frey), Ivremmling and Coventry (Warren), while there 

 is an example in the Aiken collection taken at Howbert in South Park, 

 May 1st, 1904, at about 8,600 feet. Cary notes it from White River 

 P.O. and La Veta. 



Habits. — In the south, where they were formerly 

 found in great numbers, the Snowy Egrets were social 

 birds, roosting and breeding in large assemblies, generally 

 in bushes over the water, and scattering during the day 

 to obtain their food — small fishes, frogs or aquatic 

 insects. In Colorado, however, they are never very 

 abundant, and only an occasional wanderer is to be found 

 in the neighbourhood of lakes and rivers. 



This and the Snowy Egret are the birds which have 

 suffered chiefly at the hands of the plume-hunters, 

 owing to the demand for " aigrettes," which are made 



