142 MICHIGAN BIRD LIFE. 



the Snowy Heron north of Milwaukee, Madison, and LaCrosse" (Birds 

 of Wisconsin, p. 35). 



This bird is said to migrate by day as well as by night, and it usually 

 travels in compact flocks, often of fifty or even one hundred individuals. 

 In Florida, where it formerly nested in abundance in low trees, it laid 

 three or four eggs, which are similar in color to those of the other herons, 

 but possibly a Httle greener. The eggs average 1.68 by 1.34 inches. 



The history of the persecution of this bird in the Gulf states is very sad 

 reading. Formerly one of the most abundant of water birds it has been 

 followed from place to place and driven from the more accessible nesting 

 places into the most impenetrable swamps, until at present it is with 

 difficulty that an undisturbed heronry of this species can be found. While 

 the plume hunter is directly responsible for this, the demands of fashion 

 stand back of it all, and the lax legislation which has permitted the slaughter 

 must of course bear its share of the blame. The "aigrettes" or plumes 

 so much sought after are found in perfection only during the nesting 

 season, and in order to obtain them the parent birds are shot and their 

 backs skinned at their nesting places, leaving the young to perish miserably 

 from starvation. Anyone wishing to learn the extent and details of this 

 abominable business should read Educational Leaflet No. 7 of the National 

 Committee of Audubon Societies, and the annual reports of Mr. William 

 Dutcher, the Chairman of this National Committee. 



TECHNICAL DESCRIPTION. 



Adult in breeding plumage: Entirely white; a train of aigrette plumes growing from 

 the middle of the back (interscapulars), their recurved tips extending about even with 

 the tip of the tail, sometimes a little beyond; legs black, feet bright yellow in strong con- 

 trast; bill black, more or less yellow about the base. After the breeding season the long 

 plumes are shed, but there is no other change. The young resemble the adults except 

 in the long plumes. Length 20 to 27.25 inches; wing 8.20 to 10.50; culmen 2.08 to 3.75; 

 tarsus 3.15 to 4.50. 



74. Little Blue Heron. Florida caerulea Linn. (200) 



Synonyms: Blue Egret. — Ardea caerulea, Linn., 1758, Wils., Nutt., Aud. — Florida 

 caerulea, Baird, 1858, and most recent authors. 



Recognizable always by the size and peculiar coloration; often the young 

 are mostly white, but the tips of the primaries are always slaty blue, and 

 the legs and feet greenish yellow in the young, so that they could hardly 

 be confused with the Lesser Egret, which they resemble closely in size and 

 proportions. 



Distribution. — Eastern United States, from New Jersey, Illinois and 

 Kansas, southward through Central America and the West Indies to Guiana 

 and Colombia; casually north on the Atlantic cost to Massachusetts and 

 Maine. 



This must be considered merely a straggler in ]\Iichigan and we have 

 only a single unquestionable record, that of a full plumaged bird in the 

 dark phase killed near Detroit May 2, 1882, by Mr. William S. Smith, 140 

 Grand River Ave., who has the mounted specimen in his possession still.* 



Dr. Gibbs states (MS. notes) that Dr. Atkins took a specimen in Ingham 



*Auk XXVI, 1909, 83. 



