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teenth of July of the present year, he shot seven individuals of this 

 species in a swamp near Fort Hamilton — and at the same place 

 found the young ; they were unable to fly, and were covered with 

 yellowish down. It feeds chiefly at night, and is seldom seen fly- 

 ing during the day — and, like many other species that take shelter 

 among the rank grass and rushes which grow on the wet, miry 

 grounds, it is not as scarce with us as is by many supposed. 



ARDEA EGRETTA— GMEL. 



GREAT AMERICAN WHITE EGRET. 



Great White Heron, Ardea Egretta, Wils. Amer. Orn. 



Ardea alba, Bonap. Syn. 



Great White Heron, Nutt. Man. 



Great American Egret, Ardea Egretta, And. Orn. Biog. 



Specific Character — Bill from the corner of the mouth to the 

 point five inches, yellow, upper mandible toward the point dusky ; 

 legs black ; length of tarsi five inches. Adult with the plumage 

 white ; bill yellow ; feet black ; the plumage on the fore part of 

 the back long and hairy, extending beyond the tail eight or ten 

 inches, and slightly tinged with yellow. Length three feet two 

 inches, wing fifteen inches and a half. 



On Long Island, this large and elegant bird is not a frequent vis- 

 iter. During the summer months, it is occasionally seen on the 

 marshes and meadows, or wading about on the shoals in pursuit of 

 small fish, on which it feeds, as well as on frogs and lizards. The 

 largest number of these birds that I have known to occur in this vi- 

 cinity at any one time, was five ; they were observed for several 

 days on the beach at Coney Island, and were extremely shy and vig- 

 ilant, eluding all attempts to capture them. At the South it is abun- 

 dant, and large numbers are shot for the value of its plumes, which 

 are prized as ornaments. 



