214 The Snowy Egret 



in length and are straight. In the case of the Snowy Egret they are 

 scarcely more than six inches long, are very fine, and are recurved at the 

 tips. These are known among milliners as "cross aigrettes" to distinguish 

 them from the "long white." The plumes appear early in the year and 

 the birds begin to drop them shortly after the young are hatched. At 

 the close of the nesting season the large Egret rarely 

 Cross possesses any plume-feathers, the forty or fifty nuptial 



plumes that adorned the bird earlier in the season hav- 

 ing been shed during the course of the- summer. 



In the case of the Snowy the plumes fall out more slowly, and some 

 individuals at least are supposed to still carry them when in autumn 

 they leave our shores for the Tropics. 



Snowy Egrets are found in swampy and marshy parts of tropical and 

 sub-tropical America. They inhabit both fresh-water and salt-water 

 marshes, and, unlike their larger relatives, even breed over salt water. 

 They gather in colonies in the spring, and usually are found associated 

 with Louisiana Herons and Little Blue Herons. 



In visiting Heron colonies, or "rookeries," I have never been able 

 to distinguish positively the eggs or nest of these three species. The 

 only sure way of identification is carefully to watch a nest until the old 

 bird not merely alights on the nest, but actually sits down and begins 

 to brood the eggs. It should be borne in mind that simply because one 

 sees a bird standing on a nest it is no infallible evidence that the nest 

 belongs to that bird. Man-o'-war-birds are not known to lay their eggs 

 anywhere on the coast of the United States, yet in Tampa Bay they have 

 frequently been seen sitting on Cormorants' nests. 



The nest of the Snowy Egret is made of twigs. Some of these may 



be a foot or more in length, especially those that make the foundation. 



Near the top the twigs become shorter and smaller, although there is 



usually a ragged rim of sticks that project out at all 



Nt and sorts of angles> This is all There are no feathers, 



leaves, fragments of moss, down or plants, or any of 

 the softer materials that make beds for so many other kinds of baby birds. 



On this thick, loosely constructed platform of twigs the four or five 

 blue eggs are laid. The young at first are quite helpless, and after 

 they begin to gain strength and sit up many days elapse before their 

 long, wobbly legs are strong enough for the birds to stand on. Their 

 toes are very long and the young at first move around in a most awkward 

 manner. Were it not for the twigs that project everywhere from the 

 sides of the nest many fledglings surely would be drowned. One may 

 frequently see them with their necks hooked over one of these outlying 

 twigs, and their long legs working convulsively as they seek to grasp 

 the nest with their toes in an endeavor to regain a position on the platform. 



Most Heron rookeries are infested with "cotton-mouths," or water- 

 moccasins, and I have seldom visited a rookery that did not contain 

 alligators. These reptiles not only are on the lookout for food that the 



