THE SHOWY 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 yel- 
low 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 Avater, 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. When 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 
numbers, associating with, the Blue Herons. 
