119 
Distribution. The southern and Gulf States, appearing in Canada only as an acci- 
dental straggler. There is one record for Manitoba. 
The American Egret, with the Snowy Heron and some other species of 
like character, constitute the source of the well known “aigrette” or 
“osprey” plumes of the millinery trade. As these plumes are grown only 
in the breeding season and as the immediate neighbourhood of the breeding 
rookeries is the only place where these wary birds can be easily approached 
it is evident that the harvesting of the beautiful crop is accompanied by 
great cruelty. The defence is often made that the plumes are picked up 
after being shed by the parent bird. If any one searches domestic poultry 
yards for good shed feathers he will quickly realize that recovered “aigrette” 
plumes will probably be few in number and of poor quality. The explan- 
ation is more absurd as the rookeries are situated in dense subtropical 
swamps where all below is mud and water and the undergrowth prevents 
close, systematic search even were the spoils worth retrieving. The plume 
hunter usually hides in the rookery and with a small-calibre rifle shoots 
the birds one by one until the flock is exterminated. After the plumes 
are removed the bodies are left to rot on the ground while the young starve 
in the nests above. Local laws were passed against killing the birds, but 
without avail. Originally the waters of Florida and the Gulf States were 
made beautiful with the forms of these immaculate birds; a few years ago 
they had almost lost one of their greatest attractions as the birds were 
approaching extinction. As it was found impossible to distinguish between 
foreign and native plumes or prevent the traffic in the one while permitting 
it in the other, a federal law was finally passed in the United States pro- 
hibiting the importation of feathers for millinery purposes. Similar laws 
have since been passed in Great Britain, her colonies, and Dominions, includ- 
ing Canada. Today, owing to these measures and the practical suppression 
of the plume trade, we are glad to say the birds seem to be increasing 
again. 
197. Snowy Egret. Egretta candidissima. L, 24. A small, pure white Heron. A 
cascade of fine filamentous plumes falling over the back and recurved at the ends. Similar 
straight plumes from back of head and from neck over breast. Bill black, yellow about 
eyes. Legs black, feet yellow. Juveniles and autumn adults without plumes. 
Distinctions. Much like several other small white Herons, but characterized by size, 
black legB, yellow feet, and absence of any colour on tips of flight feathers. Wing, 9-50 
toll. Bill, 2-8 to 4. Tarsus, 3-7 to 4*15. Middle toe and claw, 2-6 to 2*8. 
Field Marks. A small white Heron. Not separable in life from some other species that 
might occur. 
Nesting. Nest of sticks in trees or bushes over water. 
Distribution. Temperate and tropical America. Formerly bred from Oregon and 
Illinois south. Now only in the southern states. Occasionally wanders through the 
western states. The species has been recorded from southwestern Alberta, and a small 
White Heron taken near Edmonton and now in the Alberta Provincial Museum may be 
of this species. Two records for the coast of southern British Columbia were reported, 
but it has been discovered lately that the specimen on which the record relied is a Japanese 
form, Egretta intermedia. This is a bird between the American and Snowy Egret in size, 
plumed like the latter but with excessively long toes — 4 inches long (tarsus 5-9, wing 
12-25). It is a bird of India, China, and the Malay archipelago, and not so far recorded in 
America. It seems almost impossible that such a delicately constructed bird as an Egret 
could find its way across the wide Pacific by its own efforts and some doubt has been 
thrown on the eligibility of this particular specimen as a native species of Canada. If will 
be seen from this that the status of these small Egrets in the west is still open to investi- 
gation. 
