📷 Calibas · CC BY-SA 3.0
📷 Brocken Inaglory derivative work: Tony Wills (talk)
📷 NOAA Photo Library
IUCN: Least Concern
Great Egret
Ardea alba
KingdomAnimalia›PhylumChordata›ClassAves›OrderPelecaniformes›FamilyArdeidae›GenusArdea
About
The great egret is a tall, elegant white heron found on every continent except Antarctica. In the late 1800s its breeding plumes were so prized for ladies' hats that colonies were shot out; public outrage led to the founding of the Audubon movement and some of the first bird protection laws — the egret remains the Audubon logo to this day. It hunts by standing motionless before spearing fish with a lightning strike.
Key Facts
⛰Habitat Freshwater and saltwater marshes, lakes, rivers, and tidal flats
🍃Diet Carnivore — fish, frogs, snakes, and large insects
📏Size & Weight Body 0.9–1.04 m; wingspan 1.3–1.7 m
•weight 0.7–1.5 kg
⏳Lifespan Up to 22 years
🗺Range Nearly worldwide in temperate and tropical wetlands
BirdWaterbird
Key Facts
⛰Habitat Freshwater and saltwater marshes, lakes, rivers, and tidal flats
🍃Diet Carnivore — fish, frogs, snakes, and large insects
📏Size & Weight Body 0.9–1.04 m; wingspan 1.3–1.7 m
•weight 0.7–1.5 kg
⏳Lifespan Up to 22 years
🗺Range Nearly worldwide in temperate and tropical wetlands
Photo Credits
#1Calibas · CC BY-SA 3.0
#2Brocken Inaglory derivative work: Tony Wills (talk) · CC BY-SA 3.0
#3NOAA Photo Library · Public domain
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