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Snowy Egret

Egretta Thula

Description:

Medium-sized, totally white egret with a long slender black bill with yellow lores. The eyes are yellow and legs are black while feet are bright yellow. The head, neck and back have long, lacy plumes during breeding season. Generally silent and feeds on crustaceans, insects, and fish

Habitat:

Breeds locally from Oregon and California east to New England, mainly along coasts. Spends winters regularly from California, Arizona, and Virginia south to the West Indies and South America. Preferred habitats include marshes, ponds, swamps, and mudflats.

Notes:

A group of egrets has many collective nouns, including a "congregation", "heronry", "RSVP", "skewer", and "wedge" of egrets. At the end of the nineteenth century, the beautiful plumes of the Snowy Egret were in great demand by market hunters as decorations for women's hats. In 1886, plumes were valued at $32 per ounce, which was twice the price of gold at the time. They were hunted nearly to extinction before laws were passed to protect them. There is evidence that a pair of Snowy Egrets cannot recognize each other except at the nest. Even there, a bird arriving to relieve its mate must perform an elaborate greeting ceremony in order to avoid being attacked as an intruder. They choose urbanized nesting locations over isolated ones, because isolated locations have more predators. Egrets use flight to escape predation from terrestrial animals and they are known to have innate recognition and avoidance of poisonous snakes.

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3 Comments

YvetteForte
YvetteForte 12 years ago

Thanks Alice and Susan! I very much enjoyed that little guy trying to fish. It was a treat!

SusanEllison
SusanEllison 12 years ago

i like the second shot

alicelongmartin
alicelongmartin 12 years ago

Good pictures and good information!

YvetteForte
Spotted by
YvetteForte

Florida, USA

Spotted on Jun 9, 2011
Submitted on Aug 20, 2011

Spotted for Mission

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Reference

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