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Project Noah Nature School
Ardea alba
The great egret stands about 1 m (3 ft) tall, has all white plumage, black legs and yellow bill. In flight, the neck is folded back and the legs trailing.
Usually found near water features, such as wetlands, ponds, and lakes where it feeds on amphibians, fish, and reptiles. It nests in treetop colonies.
Spotted on Feb 27, 2008
Submitted on Mar 26, 2012
2 Comments
Thanks Karen. This was a very interesting place. There was a small zoo here containing many species of native birds, but most of the pens didn't have flight netting over the top and relied, I presume, on wing feather clipping to keep the captive birds in their pens. Then there were obviously wild, free-flying birds that voluntarily chose to make this place their home, including the great egrets that I photographed for this spotting. Fascinating place, although I'm not generally a fan of zoos. I don't think I've ever seen such a place in which great numbers of wild, human-habituated birds mixed freely with captive birds and the throngs of people who came to see both.
Gorgeous!