March, 1892.] 



AND OOLOGIST. 



37 



AMFRICAX EGRET. 



Five years ago the American Egret was very 

 common around our lakes and ponds, but 

 tlirough the agency of man, especially the 

 plume hunters, its numbers have been reduced 

 to such an extent that at the present time it 

 is seldom met with in any great numbers. 

 During the breeding seascm the Egret is 

 adorned with a magnificent train of long 

 white plumes, which, starting from the back, 

 fioat far behind the tail, even reaching to the 

 feet or beyond while fiying. 



On March 28, 1888, I found perhaps a dozen 

 pair breeding at Levey Lake. The rookery 

 was on a partly submerged island one mile 

 from shore, and the nests were placed in the 

 hushes usually about three feet above the 

 water. Incubation at this date was far 

 advanced; in fact, in at least one-half of the 

 nests examined the eggs had hatched. Xo 

 fresh eggs were found on this day at all. Tlie 

 usual number in a nest was three, sometimes, 

 however, only two, and in no case were four 

 found in a single nest. 



While on a camping and collecting ex- 

 pedition in Walkahootta Hammock my partner 

 and I, on April 27, 1880, found a few pair of 

 Egrets breeding in the buttonwood bushes of 

 a slew just east of Horse Prairie, although 

 at this late date the nests contained eggs only 

 partially incubated. The usual number of 

 eggs in this case was also three. Four were 

 found in a nest in one instance. A set of four 

 fresh eggs were taken by my partner from a 

 nest in the northern part of the county on 

 March 2(ith of the same year. These birds 

 around here are becoming quite shy and it 

 frequently requires considerable caution to 

 approach within gun-shot of them. 



SNOAVY HERON. 



Along in February the Snowy Heron is to be 

 seen around the wet prairies and shallow lakes 

 in considerable flocks in company with the 

 Little Blue Heron, and sometimes with the 

 Louisiana Heron. In March they begin to 

 frequent their old breeding grounds and 

 shortly afterwards commence repairing their 

 nests of the previous year or building new 

 ones. During the first two or three weeks of 

 April the eggs are deposited. It is now that 

 their plumes reach perfection, which soon after- 

 wards begin to drop out, and by the close of 

 the breeding season many have shed them 

 entirely. 



The number of eggs usually laid is four, 

 but sometimes five or three are found. May 



15, 1890, I found a colony of perhaps fifty 

 pair breeding in the buttonwood bushes of 

 a little pond in the hammock near Levey 

 Lake. At this date the eggs had all hatched 

 and the young completely covered the bushes 

 of the little pond. Many of the young were 

 of considerable size and no eggs were found 

 at rtll. In this heronry no other Herons were 

 found breeding, while on April 2.5. 1891, in a 

 similar rookery near Walkahootta, at least one- 

 half of the birds found nesting there were 

 liittle Blue Herons, the remainder being 

 8nowy Herons. As a rule, however, I find 

 that they usually nest in company with other 

 small Herons. 



I.OtlSIANA HEROX. 



"Lady of the Waters." Not so abundant 

 as some of the other small Herons. In early 

 spiing they were to be met in small com- 

 panies feeding around the margin of the lake. 

 It nests in company with the Little Blue and 

 Snowy Herons; and its nest, like others of its 

 family, is simply a small, almost frail nest of 

 twigs and sticks placed on the horizontal limb 

 of some wild willow or cypress tree of the 

 rookery. The number of eggs laid in one nest 

 is usually four, but it is not uncommon to 

 find five or even six in a single set. In the 

 spring of 1889, about the middle of April, I 

 visited a colony of Herons breeding on an 

 island in Kanappahaw Lake. In this rookery 

 were found nesting Little Blue Herons, Snowy 

 Herons, Green Herons and perhaps twenty 

 pair of Louisiana Herons, besides numbers 

 of Boat-tailed Graekles and Bed-winged Black- 

 birds. The Louisiana's nests were jjlaced 

 around on the wild willow trees after the 

 fashion of other Herons. At this date most 

 of the nests contained complete sets of eggs, 

 and many of the eggs showed signs of incuba- 

 tion. The number of eggs found in a nest was 

 usually four, but not uncommon was it to find 

 five, and two of the nests examined contained 

 six eggs each. The eggs closely resemble those 

 of the Little Blue Heron, but, by putting a 

 series of their eggs by the side of a number 

 of the Little Blue's eggs, the shade of 

 blue is noticeable as not being quite so deep 

 as in those of the latter, and as a rule the eggs 



are not so oval in shape. 



F. G. Pearson. 

 (inilford College, N. C. 



[To be Continued.] 



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