Jan., 1922 THE REDDISH EGRETS OF CAMERON COUNTY, TEXAS 7 
placed as lining in old nests, but once in a while a bird carried a dead thorny 
twig found beneath a mesquite. Frequently a bird with a stick in its bill came 
close to me, and apparently utterly oblivious of my presence, placed the stick 
in a nest, moved it about for a moment or so and then flew away. 
Mating had not been completed as yet and many nuptial displays were seen. 
The male would alight close beside the female and erect or ruffle out all the 
feathers of the entire body, with the possible exception of those of the abdomen, 
and spread them to the utmost. The long plumes of the back, neck and breast 
fluffed out and made the birds look as large as turkeys. During this display 
the body was usually hunched, the neck drawn in with the bill pointed upward 
at a steep angle. It lasted but a moment and try as I might I did not get a 
photograph of the performance at its height. The female probably indulges also 
when she feels that she has acquired a mate, for two birds side by side were 
seen to go through the performance. Once an Egret in the white phase was 
seen performing before an Egret normally plumaged. Several mixed pairs of 
birds were noted and watched for some time to see if they stayed close to each 
other as if paired. I think that this ruffling of the plumage is indulged in as 
often as a demonstration by one male to another as for effect on a female. Thus 
when one male alighted near another frequently both birds ruffled their plu- 
mages before the newcomer became entirely settled. 
Actual copulation was observed many times in the Reddish Egret. The 
male lit from the air on the back of the female who would be resting in her nest 
