NORTH AMERICAN MARSH BIRDS 139 



So the young resorted to their customary occupations of leg or wing stretching, or 

 yawning or preening a brother's or sister's feathers, picking at imaginary objects 

 here and there, all good exercises for growing birds. The larger ones made little 

 journeys to the limbs near the nests, the neck taking a different curve with every 

 movement, and expressing every emotion from extreme dejection to alert and 

 eager expectancy. Finally, as the old birds were convinced that the blind was 

 harmless, their reward came. With harsh, rattling notes and raised crest one of 

 the parents alit near the nest. Its superbly threatening attitude was clearly not 

 alarming to the young birds, who welcomed it by voice and upstretched, extended 

 neck. Gravely the parent stood regarding its young, while its crest dropped and 

 its pose relaxed. Then, as it stepped to the edge of the nest, it lowered its head, 

 when its bill was immediately seized by one of the youngsters. The young bird 

 did not thrust its bill down the parental throat, nor was the parent's bill introduced 

 into that of its offspring. The hold of the young bird was such as one would 

 take with a pair of shears, if one were to attempt to cut off the adult's bill at the 

 base. In this manner the old bird's head was drawn down into the nest, where 

 the more or less digested fish was disgorged, and at once devoured by the 

 young. 



Plumages. — The downy young egret is partially covered with long, 

 pure white down, through which much light green naked skin shows 

 on the neck and under parts; the bill and feet are hght green and yel- 

 lowish. On the forehead, crown and sides of the head the down is long 

 and hairlike, an inch and a quarter long on the top of the head; the 

 entire back is covered with somewhat shorter, softer down; the un- 

 der parts are more scantily covered with coarser down ; and the throat 

 is naked. 



By the time that the young bird is half grov/n it is practically fully 

 fledged; the juvenal plumage appears first on the back, then on the 

 wings, breast and crown; later the tail appears; and the last of the 

 down is replaced on the neck and belly. This plumage is all pure 

 white, without any trace of plumes. Young birds begin to acquire 

 their first dorsal plumes, aigrettes, during their first prenuptial molt, 

 which begins sometimes early in January, but sometimes not till Feb- 

 ruary or later. The growth of plumes during the first year is always 

 limited and sometimes omitted. At the fii'st postnuptial molt young 

 birds become practically adult. 



The European egret is said to have two complete molts each year^ 

 but I can not find any trace of molting primaries in American birds 

 during the prenuptial molt. The postnuptial molt is complete, the 

 primaries being molted in August. The long, flowing train of decom- 

 posed feathers, known as plumes or aigrettes, is a nuptial adornment 

 of breeding adults; it is acquired at the prenuptial molt in January 

 and February and is shed soon after the breeding season is over, in 

 June and July. I have counted as many as 54 long dorsal plumes in 

 an extra fine specimen, but usually there are much fewer. The adult 

 winter plumage, acquired by a complete postnuptial molt in July and 

 August, is not always wholly devoid of plumes; but the plumes, if 



