224 Contributions from the Charleston Museum. 



Coues says in his Key to North American Birds: ' 

 Bill, lores, and eyes, yellow. 



Chapman says in Birds of Eastern North America:^ 

 Bill yellow, lores orange, bordered below by greenish. 



Egretta candidissima (Gmel.). Snowy Egret. 



As this species is now rare, and as the few that liave escaped 

 the ravages of the plume-hunter breed in almost inaccessible 

 places, it is perhaps worth mentioning that I discovered about 

 four pairs on April 21, 1910. Two nests, one with four, and the 

 other with three eggs, were absolutely identified on April 27 after 

 hours of watching and waiting in concealment. The birds were 

 so very shy that the mere act of snapping a twig caused them to 

 take wing at once. It is to be hoped that this lovely species 

 will be afforded adequate protection from further ravages by 

 plume-hunters, 



Hydranassa tricolor ruficollis (Gosse). Louisiana Heron. 



On April 7, 1910, the ' ' Lady of the Waters" had just commenc- 

 ed to lay her eggs, which is an exceptionally early date. Among 

 the hundreds of nests that I examined (and fully identified) in 

 no case were there more than two eggs. It must, however, be 

 borne in mind that the spring was far advanced in late March. 



Florida caerulea (Linn.). Little Blue Heron. 



As in the case of the preceding species, the Little Blue Heron 

 had one or two eggs laid on April 7, 1910, which is the earliest 

 date upon which I have ever known the l)irds to have eggs laid. 



The adult white phase is outnumbered by the adult blue phase 

 in the proportion of one hundred or more of the latter to one of 

 the former. 



Nycticorax nycticorax naevius (Bodd.) . Black-crowned 

 Night Heron. 



Among the scores of nests that I examined on April 7, 1910, 

 almost all contained complements of three or four eggs, which 

 is my earliest breeding record. The nests were invariably placed 

 in dark places in the cypress swamps, and not exposed to the sun- 

 light as was the case in all the nests I have examined of this spe- 



1 1892, 659. 2 1895, 133. 



