Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1948-09-23
This and That
BIZ Charles E. Trace,DeI

A correspondent recently saw a big white
bird walking along the bank of the pond at
the United States Soldiers Home.
Il took it to be large goose" he wrote.
1t rose up in flight, an entirely white bird,
about the size of q turkey hen.
Its neck was about foot long. curved like
a letter s; its feet and legs were dark blue,
or black and his beak was yellow. 1t had
quite a large Widespread, legs slightly back
ward in flight, az if they were dragging.
HE or she flew from one small pond to
another. would like to know what kind of
bird, duck, goose or crane it was,>if it was
any Of the sort mentioned"
The bird was the American egret, more
plentiful this summer than for many years.
This egret is Al inches long, white, with legs
and feet black and bill yellow.
The snowy egret, often seen, Is smaller, "a
inches long, with bill and legs black, toes
yellow
The little blue heron, in the white phase,
is "a inches long, with black bill and legs and
feet black.
Many of these members of the heron family
are to be seen down on the river, even on
Rock Creek, and few drop down on the ponds
at the Zoo
Herons are always hungry
"As hungry as heron" is an old saying In
the South.
They eat and eat, but no matter how much
they consume they always want more, even
seem to be emaciated.
Herons in flight carry the neck folded and
the head drawn in near the shoulders.
They have nice feathers with extensions on
the back. The most famous of these is the
nuptial plumage, at its grandest on the Ameri-
can egret
Several species of egrets will group together
at breeding time, placing large nests in tree
tops.
They are solitary feeders, however. Some of
them wait patiently for fish to swim BY Others
run after them.
Among the herons are the bittern, the least
bittern, great white heron, great blue heron
American egret, snowy egret, Louisiana heron,
little blue heron, green heron and two night
herons. the black crowned and yellow crowned
These night birds are among those that pur-
sue their prey
They are very gregarious, and each parent
feeds two groups of youngsters at the same
time, four or five f1edglings in the nest and
four or five somewhat older ones walking
around in the branches, but not yet ready for
flight.
The green heron is only 10 inches long, and
is not as graceful in appearance as the others.
He is quite bird" however, with the habit
of playing dead, or freezing" when he sees
ne is Watcne0
At soft squawk from a parent, the young
will all stand perfectly still, at times waiting
until an intruder is within two or three feet Of
them.
The green heron is not gregarious.
Little blue herons have been seen here every
year. but the American egret and snowy egrets
are comparatively new since they have made a
comeback" with the aid Of conservation Of
f1cialS.
Little blue herons are slate blue, when they
are two or three years old, but before that they
are pure white, with just touch Of blue here
and there, seen only when the observer is close
1t is not until they are two years old that
these herons take on the definite blue color
that gives them their name. But while still
clothed in what may be called their youthful
dress, they still mate and rear young. Few
bird species have families until they assume
the full clothing of maturity.
Another odd fact about these mighty little
blue herons is that the young birds take longer
trips than the adults.
Water moccasins and alligators are their two
enemies. The snakes climb into the trees and
eat the eggs, while the alligators open their
capacious jaws to swallow such unfortunate
young herons as fall from the nests.