NORTH AMERICAN MARSH BIRDS 145 



San Antonio, Carhiic, and Chubut River) ; and Chile (Port Otway 

 and Calbuco). West to Chile (Calbuco, Lake Aculco, Santiago, 

 Coquimbo, Tarapaca, and Sacaya) ; Peru (Lima, Santa Cruz, and 

 Junin) ; Ecuador (Babahoyo and Manto) ; Colombia (Meta River and 

 Lake of Patm'io) ; Costa Rica (San Jose, Miravalles, and La Palma) ; 

 Nicaragua (Escondido River and Lake Nicaragua) ; Honduras (Tigre 

 Island) ; Guatemala (Lake of Duenas and Chiapam) ; Guerrero, 

 Mexico (Acapulco) ; Sinaloa, Mexico (Mazatlan) ; Lower California 

 (San Jose del Cabo and Santa Margarita Island) ; California (Buena 

 Vista Lake, Tulare Lake, Riverdale, formerly Stockton, and Sacra- 

 mento) ; and Oregon (Silver Lake). 



The account above given refers to the distribution of the egret 

 before the plume hunters decimated their ranks. At the present 

 time their breeding range in North America is restricted almost en- 

 tirely to the States of the Gulf coast; Florida (Monroe County, 

 Indian Key Reservation, Myakka River, Orange Lake, and Talla- 

 hassee) ; Louisiana (Delta of the Mississippi River and Cameron 

 Parish) ; Texas (Karankawa Bay in Calhoun County, Mesquite Bay, 

 Aransas County, and Guadalupe Valley, Victoria County) ; the States 

 of the South Atlantic coast, Georgia (Okefinokee Swamp and Bird 

 Pond, Chatham county) ; South Carolina (Mount Pleasant and 

 Washoe Reserve near McClellanville) ; and North Carolina (Orton 

 Lake, between Wilmington and the mouth of the Cape Fear River). 

 Small colonies are also known in the Mississippi Valley; Arkansas 

 (Walker Lake) ; and Tennessee (Reelfoot Lake); and also in Califor- 

 nia (Tulare Lake and Clear Lake) ; and in Oregon (Silver Lake and 

 Malheur Lake). 



Winter range. — South America, Central America, some of the is- 

 lands of the Caribbean Sea and the southern and western United 

 States. In North America the winter range of the egret extends 

 north to California (Santa Cruz, formerly San Francisco, and Stock- 

 ton) ; Oregon (formerly Fort Klamath) ; Texas (Giddings and Gal- 

 reston) ; Louisiana (Marsh Island and Vermillion Bay) ; Florida 

 (Gainsville) ; and South Carolina (Frogmore). 



Spring migration. — Early dates of arrival are: Oregon, Silver Lake, 

 April 14, 1913, and Malheur Lake, March 12, 1916; Arizona, Phoenix, 

 March 30; Colorado, Denver, April 26, 1907; Louisiana, New Orleans, 

 March 16, 1895; Mississippi, Rodney, March 19; Illinois, Canton, 

 April 11, Peoria, March 20, and Grandridge, April 19; Iowa, Keokuk, 

 April 17, 1894, and Wall Lake, March 22, 1912; Nebraska, Nehawka, 

 May 2, 1905; Indiana, Bicknell, March 11, and Waterloo, April 22; 

 Ohio, Sandusky, April 29; South Carolina, Charleston, February 23, 

 1913; District of Columbia, Washington, May 30, 1891 (only spring 

 record); and Pennsylvania, Osceola Mills, April 22, 1893. 



