Little Egret behaviour (1 Viewer)

https://www.facebook.com/groups/170...tif_id=1507294766872002&notif_t=group_comment

Hope this link works , can't find my original video file.

This Little Egret seemed to be trying to attract fish by imitating a drowning insect or feeding fish shoal.
Is such behaviour known ?

George Hogg said:

Is such behaviour known ?

Click to expand...

Actually it’s a quite well-known fishing tactic employed by more than one species of heron. It’s referred to in the literature as "bill vibration" (rapidly opening & closing the bill with the tip a little below the surface), the vibrating mandibles & disturbed water being thought to act as lures, attracting small fish & invertebrates. Another idea is that the vibrating mandibles improve visibility in murky water.

Here’s a photo of a Snowy Egret using the technique at one of the Reno lakes a few years ago—

https://www.flickr.com/photos/fugl/7946119316/in/album-72157660269987246/

Little egret

Many thanks , Have googled 'bill vibration' and can find the behaviour in snowy egret and black crowned night heron.
Any links to records of Little Egret doing it ?

George Hogg said:

Many thanks , Have googled 'bill vibration' and can find the behaviour in snowy egret and black crowned night heron.
Any links to records of Little Egret doing it ?

Click to expand...

Turned this up just now—

https://www.researchgate.net/profil...gretta-garzetta.pdf?origin=publication_detail

Bill-vibrating has also been recorded for Green Heron.

And just learned, BTW, that “tongue-flicking” is an alternative name for the behavior so it’s worth searching for it under that as well.