THE SNOWY HERON. 165 



places among the roots and hanging branches. Both sexes incubate. Many 

 of the eggs are destroyed by Crows and Turkey Buzzards, which also 

 devour the young, and many are carried off by men. 



The young acquire the full beauty of their plumage in the course of the 

 first spring, when they can no longer be distinguished from the old birds. 

 The legs and feet are at first of a darkish olive, as is the bill, except at the 

 base, where it is lighter, and inclining to yellow. At the approach of 

 autumn, the crest assumes a form, and the feathers of the lower parts of the 

 neck in front become considerably lengthened, the feet acquire a yellow tint, 

 and the legs are marked with black on a yellowish ground; but the flowing 

 feathers of the back do not appear until the approach of spring, when they 

 grow rapidly, become recurved, and remain until the young are hatched, 

 when they fall off. 



The Snowy Heron, while in the Carolinas, in the month of April, resorts 

 to the borders of the salt-water marshes, and feeds principally on shrimps. 

 Many individuals which I opened there contained nothing else in their 

 stomach. On the Mississippi, at the time when the shrimps are ascending 

 the stream, these birds are frequently seen standing on floating logs, busily 

 engaged in picking them up; and on such occasions their pure white colour 

 renders them conspicuous and highly pleasing to the eye. At a later period, 

 they feed on small fry, fiddlers, snails, aquatic insects, occasionally small 

 lizards and young frogs. Their motions are generally quick and elegant, 

 and, while pursuing small fishes, they run swiftly through the shallows, 

 throwing up their wings. Twenty or thirty seen at once along the margins 

 of a marsh or a river, while engaged in procuring their food, form a most 

 agreeable sight. In autumn and early spring, they are fond of resorting to 

 the ditches of the rice-fields, not unfrequently in company with the Blue 

 Herons. When, on being wounded in the wing one falls into the water, it 

 swims off towards the nearest shore, and runs to hide itself by the side of 

 some log, or towards a tree which if possible it climbs, ascending to its very 

 top. W'hen seized, they peck at you with great spirit, and are capable of 

 inflicting a severe wound. 



There is no difference between the sexes as to plumage, but the male is 

 somewhat larger. When in good condition, its flesh is excellent eating, 

 especially in early autumn, when it is generally very fat. Some may be 

 seen for sale in the markets of New Orleans and other southern cities. They 

 return southward from the Middle Districts early in October, but in the 

 Carolinas they remain until the first frosts, when they all depart for the 

 Floridas, where I found them during the whole winter in considerable num- 

 bers, associating with the Blue Herons. 



