WHITE EGRET. 
two fully-matured birds male and female, one mature male bird casting its 
plumes and growing new ones at the same time, one immature male carrying 
the first-season’s plumes, and one young male about one month from nest. 
Descriptions of specimens secured : mature male, biU nearly all black, except 
basal portion, which is straw-yellow in colour ; bare patch before the eyes 
and at base of upper mandible pale green, bare patch surrounding the eyes 
orange colour, irides orange ; feet and tarsus black, lower portion of bare 
thigh black, upper portion near feathers running into yellowish ; number of 
plumes 42, plumes extending from 4 to 6 inches past the tail ; female same, 
but has the bill all black ; quantity of plumes 38 ; — ^mature male No. 2, 
moulting : all of the bill pale yellow, excepting about one inch from the tip, 
which part is blackish in colour ; feet and tarsus black, three parts of the 
bare portion of thigh between the Joint and feathers mostly yellowish in 
colour; this bird is carrying 6 old frayed plumes and growing numerous 
fresh plumes in blood-feather from 1 to 8 inches in length ; bare patch 
before the eyes pale green, irides orange ; — immature male probably two 
years from nest : feet and tarsus black, highest portion of bare thigh near 
feathers yellowish, bill three parts from tip black, basal portion yellowish, 
bare patch before eyes and base of mandible pale green, irides orange ; this 
bird carries its first-season’s plumes : plumes short, not passing wings or tail 
in length, quill of plume-feather much thinner than in mature birds, 
filaments shorter and finer ; this bird carries 8 such plumes ; — ^young male 
about one month from nest : bill pale yellow, bare patch before eyes very 
pale green, irides much paler than in mature birds, feet and tarsus black, 
bare part of thigh black, except small portion near the feathered part of 
thigh. From my knowledge of this species they start to plume the second 
year, becoming fully plumed about the fourth or fifth ; also, that the change 
in colour in bill and the time of casting and growing the plumes vary : I 
have seen odd birds early in March fully plumed amongst dozens of 
unplumed ones, such plumed birds having the bill black and unplumed birds 
having yeUow bills. Generally this bird becomes full-plumed, and the bill 
changes from yellow to black, before the breeding-season starts, the casting 
of plumes, and bill changing colour from black to yellow, starting about the 
latter end of December. Specimens dissected by me : the oesophagus and 
stomach were full of shrimps, small fish, and frogs. It is a fine sight to see 
these beautiful white, graceful birds standing in the shallow receding water 
in the swamps, catching their food as they rush by on their way to the 
Gulpha Creek and thence to the river Murray. These swamps or backwaters 
of the Murray are the spawning grounds for all kinds of fish indigenous to 
the River Murray.” 
433 
