60 
BIRDS OF PENNSYLVANIA. 
No. 
Date. 
Locality. 
Food-Materials. 
1 
August, 
1879 
Lancaster county. Pa 
Fishes and insects. 
2 
July, 
1881 
Chester county. Pa 
Field-mouse and cray-fish. 
3 
July, 
1884 
Delaware county, Pa 
Fishes and frogs ( liana). 
4 
April, 
1885 
Orange county. Fla 
Cray-hsh. 
5 
April, 
1885 ‘ 
Orange county. Fla., 
Fish-scales and bones. 
G 
April, 
1885, 
Orange county, Fla., 
Fishes. 
7 
April, 
1885, 
Orange county, Fla 
Insects. 
8 
April, 
1885, 
Orange county, Fla. , 
Fea thers. apparently of a sparrow ( ? ) 
9 
April. 
1885 
Orange county. Fla 
Cray-fish and small snake. 
10 
April. 
1885 
Orange county. Fla 
Fish -scales and bones. 
11 
April, 
1885 
Orange county. Fla 
Cray-fish and fish-scales. 
12 
May, 
1885, . . ■ 
Volusia county, Fla 
Stomach empty. 
13 
May, 
1885, 
Volusia county, Fla., 
Beetles and dipterous insects. 
Ardea candidissima Gmel. 
Snowy Heron ; Little White Egret, 
Description. 
Adults in the breeding season have long fine hair-like occipital feathers ; the long 
plumes on back are frequently curved upward at ends, which reach to or a little 
beyond the ends of tail ; plumes on lower neck similar but not curved. Plumage 
in both sexes, and at all ages, entirely white ; bill black, yellow at base ; lores, eyes 
and posterior part of tarsus, yellow, rest of legs black ; length about 24 inches ; ex- 
tent about 38 inches. In young birds the occipital feathers are slightly developed, 
and they also lack the long plumes of back, and jugulum. Old birds when notin 
breeding dress, have generally at all seasons, the occipital crests well developed, 
but lack the hair-like plumes on back and lower neck. 
Habitat. — Temperate and tropical America, from Long Island and Oregon south 
to Buenos Ayres ; casual on the Atlantic coast to Nova Scotia. 
This beautiful heron is most plentiful in the southern states, where 
it breeds in company with other species. Solitary individuals are 
sometimes found in this locality during- the late summer or early 
autumn. This eg-ret is much less frequently met with in Pennsylvania 
than the last. In the counties of Crawford and Erie, Messrs. Geo. B. 
Sennett, of Erie city, and H. C. Kirkpatrick, of Meadville, have found 
the Snowy Heron only as a very rare and irreg-ular visitor. Prof. H. 
Justin Boddy, writing- to me July 29, 1887, from Landisburg-, Perry 
county, says, “July 27 th I secured here a very fine specimen of the 
American Eg-ret {A. egretta)] the first I have ever seen in this county. 
I have a number of times seen the Snowy Heron {A. candidissima) in 
this locality.” Occasional stragglers of this species have been met with 
in Lehigh and Northampton counties, by Hr. John W. Detwiller, of 
Bethlehem. Mr. J. E. Kocher, of South Whitehall, Lehigh county ; Hr. 
Geo. R. Ross, of Lebanon, Lebanon county; Hr. Walter Van Fleet, 
Renovo, Clinton county ; Jonas Stern, Kutztown ; H. Frank Keller, 
Reading, Berks county ; George Miller and Casper Loucks, York, York 
county ; Hr. A. C. Treichler, Lancaster county ; M. J. Webster, Madi- 
sonville, Lackawanna county, and Hr. I. F. Everhart, of Scranton, Lacka- 
wanna county, all report this heron in their respective counties as a 
rare and irregular straggler. 
Nuttall says: “Its food, as usual, consists of small crabs, worms. 
