SNOWY HERON. 587 
and found to be well tasted; the white was of a bluish tint, and al- 
most transparent, though boiled for'a considerable time; the yolk very 
small in quantity: The birds rose in vast numbers, but without clam- 
or, alighting on the tops. of the trees around, and watching the result 
in silent anxiety. Among them were numbers of the Night Heron, 
and two or three Purple-headed Herons. Great quantities of egg 
shells lay scattered under the trees, occasioned by the depredations 
of the Crows, who were continually hovering about the place. On 
one of the nests I found-the dead body ‘of the bird itself, half de- 
voured by the Hawks, Crows, or Gulls. She had probably perished in 
defence of hereggs. ~ 
The Snowy Heron is seen at all times during summer among the 
salt marshes, watching and searching for food, or passing, sometimes 
in flocks, from one part of the bay to the other. They often make 
excursions up the rivers and inlets, but return regularly in the evening 
to the red cedars on the beach to roost. I found these birds on the 
Mississippi, early in June, as far up as Fort Adams, roaming about 
among the creeks and inundated woods. 
The length of this species is two feet one inch; extent, three feet 
two inches; the bill is four inches and a quarter long, and grooved; 
the space from the nostril to the eye, orange yellow, the rest of the 
bill black; irides, vivid orange; the whole plumage is of a snowy 
whiteness ; the head is largely crested with loose; unwebbed feathers, 
nearly four inches in length; another tuft of the same covers the 
breast ; but the most distinguished ornament of this bird is a bunch of 
long, silky plumes, proceeding from the shoulders, covering the whole 
back, and extending beyond the tail; the shafts of these are six or 
seven inches long, extremely elastic, tapering to the extremities, and 
thinly set with long, slender, bending threads or fibres, easily agitated, 
by the slightest motion of the air; these shafts curl upwards at the 
ends. When the bird is irritated, and erects those airy plumes, they 
have a very elegant appearance: the legs and naked part of the 
thighs are black; the feet, bright yellow; claws, black, the middle 
one pectinated. y 
The female can scarcely be distinguished by her plumage, having 
not only the crest, but all the ornaments of the male, though not quite 
so long and flowing. eee 
The young birds of the first season are entirely destitute of the 
long plumes of the breast and t ack; but, as all those that have been 
examined in spring are found crested and ornamented as above, they 
doubtless receive their full dress on the first moulting. . Those shot in 
October measured twenty-two inches in length, by thirty-four in ex- 
tent; the crest was beginning to form; the ‘Jegs, yellowish green, 
daubed with black; the feet, greenish yellow; the lower mandible 
white at-the base ; the wings, when shut, nearly of a length with the 
tail, which is even at the end. 
The Little Egret, or European species, is said by Latham and Turton 
to be nearly a foot in length; Bewick observes, that it rarely exceeds 
a foot and a half; has a much shorter crest, with two long feathers ; 
the feet are black; and the long plumage of the back, instead of 
turning up at the extremity, falls over the rump. 
The young of both these birds are generally very fat, and esteemed 
by some people as excellent eating. 
