NORTH AMERICAN BIRDS. 



115 



This is a familiar Heron in Europe, and is very abundant in places where it is 

 protected by law. In England most of 

 its breeding places are guarded by land 

 owners. In the middle ages when fal- 

 conry was a favorite sport the bird was 

 held as royal game, and penal enact- 

 ments preserved it for the pleasure of 

 royalty. Hagerup mentions this Heron 

 as an occasional visitor in South Green- 

 land. A skin which was from Gadthaab 

 is in Benson's collection. It was taken 

 in 1877. This Heron builds its nest ac- 

 cording to circumstances, either on the 

 ground, in trees, or on high rocks. It 

 breeds in colonies, and its favorite nest- 

 ing places are on the tops of trees, on 

 the outer branches. The nest is large 

 and flat, composed of sticks and lined 

 with grass. Each year the nests are 

 repaired and augmented until they be- 

 come very massive. The eggs are four 



or five in number, of a pale green color, 195. EUROPEAN BLUE HERON. 



and measure 2.42x1.72. Four eggs from 

 England in my collection measure 2.48x1.67, 2.49x1.61, 2.52x1.64, 2.40x1.65. 



196. AMERICAN EGRET. Ardea egretta Gmel. Geog. Dist. Temperate and 

 tropical America, from New Jersey, Minnesota and Oregon, south to Patagonia; 

 casually on the Atlantic coast to Nova Scotia. 



This beautiful species, the Great White Egret of America, has an extended dis- 

 tribution, breeding as far north on the Atlantic coast as New Jersey, on the Pacific 

 coast to Oregon, and in the interior as far north as Southern Illinois. It breeds 

 throughout South America to Patagonia, and is a resident on the Island of Trinidad. 

 In the enormous rookeries' of Florida this bird was formerly abundant, but of late 

 years the "plume hunters" have wrought great destruction in their numbers. It is 

 a bird of purest white, and during the breeding season has a magnificent train of 

 silky plumes flowing from the back over the wings and drooping far beyond the tail. 

 Our illustration of the European Great White Egret, 77. alba, will give a fair idea 

 of the appearance of the American Egret. Our bird measures from 36 to 42 inches in 

 length, not including the dorsal train, which is sometimes more than 12 inches longer. 

 The nests of the Great White Egret are built in deep cypress swamps, often on the 

 tops of the tallest trees; others are found on low bushes or on mangroves, a short 

 distance above water. The eggs are plain bluish-green, varying from elliptical to 

 oval, two to four in number and measure from 2.20 to 2.35 long by 1.40 to 1.65 broad. 



197. SNOWY HERON. Ardea caiididissima Gmel. Temperate and tropical 

 America, from Long Island and Oregon, south to Buenos Ayres; casual on the At- 

 lantic coast of Nova Scotia. 



The breeding range of this species is almost the same as that of the last. A few 

 are supposed to be summer residents as far north as Long Island, from thence south- 

 ward it is found along the entire Gulf coast and the shores of both oceans. It occurs 

 in the interior as far north as Oregon. Very abundant throughout a large portion 



