a name given to those species of wood herons which have the feathers of the lower part of the back elongated, reaching to the end of the tail, or even beyond it at certain seasons of the year. The egrets are more graceful than the common heron, and the American species is about thirty-seven inches long, has soft plumage, a smooth head and twelve trailing feathers. The egrets have been so much hunted for their white flowing plumes, which women prize for ornament, that they are rapidly being exterminated.