NEW YORK ZOOLOGICAL PARK. 139 
years the Zoological Park has secured only three specimens, 
all of which came from southern Florida. 
The Little Blue Heron, (Florida caerulea) —The imma- 
ture birds of this species are snowy white, and so closely 
resemble snowy herons of the same age, that only one well 
acquainted with both can distinguish between them. They 
are, however, separately recognized by the fact that the 
snowy heron has black legs, and a black bill, whereas the 
legs and bill of the Little Blue Heron are pale yellow. This 
species is still common in some parts of its Florida home, 
and occasionally a specimen strays as far north as Staten 
Island. 
The Louisiana Heron (Hydranassa tricolor ruficollis), once 
very numerous in Florida, is still found there, but in greatly 
reduced numbers. It ranges from Central America and the 
West Indies northward to the Gulf States, and occasionally 
to Long Island. The general coloring is dark blue, but a 
prominent distinguishing character is the chestnut brown 
on the sides of the neck. 
The Black-Crowned Night Heron, (Nycticoraxr nycticorax 
naevius), is one of the commonest herons about New York 
City and occasionally nests in the Park itself. It breeds in 
large colonies, and feeds chiefly at night. Its note is a 
hoarse quok, very much like the bark of a dog. 
The Snowy Heron, or Snowy Egret, (Egretta candidis- 
sima), when fully adult, is the most beautiful white bird in 
all the avian world. Its form is the embodiment of sym- 
metry and grace, its plumage is immaculate, and the filmy 
‘‘plumes’’ on its head and back are like spun glass. Its 
black legs and bill merely serve to intensify the whiteness 
of its feathers. The vanity of woman has been the curse of 
the Snowy Egret. Its plumes are finest during the breeding 
season, and it was then that the hunters sought them, 
slaughtering the old birds in the rookeries by thousands 
(when they were abundant), and leaving the nestlings to 
die of starvation. If all women could know the price in 
blood and suffering which is paid for the accursed ‘‘aig- 
rettes’’ of fashion, surely but few could find any pleasure 
in wearing them. It is strange that civilized woman-—the 
tender-hearted, the philanthropic, and the ever-compassion- 
ate—should prove to be the evil genius of the world’s most 
beautiful birds. 
In the United States the Snowy Egret now exists only by 
accident, and the ‘‘plume hunters’’ are pursuing this and 
