480 



BRITISH BIRDS. 



inch in length, and from T77 to 1*7 inch in breadth. They vary some- 

 what in shape, some specimens being much more pointed than others. 

 It is impossible to distinguish the eggs of this species from those of the 

 Common Heron or the Purple Heron. When the young are nearly 

 fledged they often leave the nest and perch on the adjoining branches to 

 wait for their parents' arrival with food. It is a very pleasing scene, when 

 the young are being reared, to watch the old birds pass to and fro with 

 food, or fly hither and thither with legs thrown out behind and head drawn 

 in between the shoulders, anxious for the safety of their broods. The 

 Great White Egret only rears one brood in the season. 



The spring plumage of the Great White Egret is as white as snow ; 

 there is a very slight crest on the head, and the feathers of the lower neck 

 are prolonged into narrow plumes ; and from the lower back extend two 

 tufts of long plumes which reach beyond the tail. Bill black ; bare space 

 round the eye greenish yellow; legs and feet reddish brown; claws black; 

 irides yellow. The female resembles the male in colour, but the plumes 

 on the head, neck, and back are shorter. In the course of the summer the 

 dorsal plumes are gradually lost, and are not renewed until the spring 

 moult. The winter plumage does not otherwise differ from that of 

 summer ; but about the time of the autumn moult the black bill becomes 

 yellow, changing to black again at the spring moult. Young in first 

 plumage only differ from adults in having no long plumes, and in having 

 a yellow instead of a black bill. Birds of the year only differ from adults 

 in having the plumes shorter ; the bill in summer is yellow at the base 

 and the legs are paler. 



