Egret
| Egret | ||||||||||||
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Great Egret ( Egretta thula ) |
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| Systematics | ||||||||||||
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| Scientific name | ||||||||||||
| Egretta thula | ||||||||||||
| ( Molina , 1782) |
The Snowy Egret ( Egretta thula ) is a species of the family of herons (Ardeidae).
The silver heron has a size of about 56 to 66 centimeters. Its wingspan is around 100 centimeters. There is no difference in size between males and females. The plumage color is also the same. The plumage is snow white. Their long, narrow beaks and legs are black; the feet are light yellow in color. During the breeding season, silver herons wear long fringed decorative feathers on their backs, which give the bird its name. There is a yellow area between the eyes and the beak that turns reddish during the breeding season. The feet also turn an orange shade.
Great egrets usually breed in March or early April in large colonies in wetlands or on coasts and lakes, often with other species of heron or waders . They put their shallow nests on trees or bushes. A clutch consists of three to four greenish blue eggs that are hatched over a period of three to four weeks. In the breeding business, males and females take turns.
While searching for food, they wade through shallow water and prey on fish , frogs and toads , lizards and snakes . Even earthworms , snails , shrimps and crustaceans are not spurned.
The breeding areas of the European heron are in North America . Small populations also breed in Canada and Alaska . In winter it moves to Central and South America and prefers to inhabit shallow bays and mangroves . There are other winter quarters in the Caribbean .
Egret and human
European herons were enormously threatened in their populations at the end of the 19th century and in the early 20th century . Thousands of birds were shot down to make elegant women's hats decorated with feathers. A timely ban saved the European heron from extinction. Today silver herons can be found again in large numbers.
Internal system
So far, 2 subspecies have been described, which differ in color or song . Together with the little egret ( Egretta garzetta ) ( Linnaeus , 1766), the great little egret is often classified as a super species.
| E. t. brewsteri ( Thayer & Bangs , 1909) | Western United States and Baja California |
| E. t. thula ( Molina , 1782) | North , Central and South America . From the Northeast of the USA to the Caribbean to the Northeast of Argentina and from the Northwest of Mexico to Brazil |
literature
- James A. Kushlan & James A. Hancock: Herons . Oxford University Press, 2005, ISBN 0-19-854981-4
Web links
- Egretta thula in the endangered Red List species the IUCN 2008. Posted by: BirdLife International, 2008. Accessed January 31 of 2009.
- Videos, photos and sound recordings of Egretta thula in the Internet Bird Collection