136 BULLETIN 135^ UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM 



these are lowered, the head is drawn down between the shoulders and 

 the long plumes extend beyond the nest like graceful white streamers. 



The nests of the American egret are much like those of other her- 

 ons, but are usualy not as well made; they are flat platforms of sticks 

 rather loosely put together and not much larger than the bettor 

 types of night herons' nests. Often there is little or no attempt at 

 nest lining, but sometimes the nests are considerably hollowed and well 

 lined with fine twigs, vines, or weed stems. 



American egrets were not common on the coast of Texas in 1923, 

 but we found three small colonies. On one of a chain of islands be- 

 tween Mesquite and San Antonio Bays we found a colony of five or 

 six pairs nesting in a clump of small willows in the midst of a large 

 breeding colony of reddish egrets, Louisiana herons, and snowy egrets; 

 the island was low and rather swampy, overgrown with low bushes 

 and herbage, in which the smaller herons were nesting; in the small 

 clump of willows, the only trees of any size on the island, a few pairs 

 of Ward herons were nesting with the American egrets. The egrets' 

 nests were from 4 to 8 feet up in the small trees and all contained 

 young of various ages on May 16. 



In Victoria County, Texas, we found two colonies. One, in a 

 button-willow swamp on Weed Prairie, had once been well populated; 

 the nests were 8 or 10 feet above the water, which was 2 or 3 feet 

 deep, in the willows; most of the nests had been abandoned when we 

 visited it on May 21. The other, a colony of 25 or 30 pairs, was in 

 a clump of willows in an open space among tall timber in a big rook- 

 ery of white ibises, roseate spoonbills, Ward, and little blue herons. 

 The nests wore from 10 to 20 feet up in the willows and contained 

 young of various ages on May 30. 



W. J. Erichsen has sent me the following notes on a Georgia colony: 



On May 11, 1915, a long-planned visit to the heron rookery on Ossabaw Island, 

 20 miles southwest of Savannah, became a reality. We began working our way 

 through the rank vegetation toward the little colony of egrets which we deter- 

 mined upon as our first objective. Before we had penetrated the marginal growth 

 many yards, egrets began to vacate their nests, most of the birds withdrawing 

 entirely from the pond, alighting singly or in little groups on the branches of the 

 tall pines at the far end of the pond where they stood out against the dark green 

 foliage in statuesque beautj". As our stay in close proximity to their nests 

 lengthened, some individuals were seen cautiously leaving their outposts and 

 soaring overhead at considerable heights, their anxiety to return to their nests 

 partly overcoming their warj^ nature. With snakelike necks drawn close in and 

 legs extended straight behind they soared and circled lightly above our heads, 

 mingling with the myriads of Louisiana and little blue herons whose homes were 

 also in the willows here below. 



Passing through the rank vegetation growing about the margin we find our- 

 selves in more open water. Little islands of tall green saw-grass and cat-tail 

 flags spring up here and there, between which are open spaces of water of various 

 size. In some of these islands willows have taken root in the soft ooze, sometimes 

 in clusters of two or three but more often singly. In the stoutest of these trees 



