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Northernmost and inland populations are migratory and move southwards, coastal birds are more sedentary but post-breeding dispersal takes some birds north to southern [[Canada]]. | Northernmost and inland populations are migratory and move southwards, coastal birds are more sedentary but post-breeding dispersal takes some birds north to southern [[Canada]]. | ||
| + | In the [[Western Palearctic]] recorded three times in or near [[Iceland]], and five have been seen in the [[Azores]]. The first, and so far only, [[Britain|British]] record was of an immature on Seil Island in Argyll, [[Scotland]] in October 2001 and still present in the general area in June 2002. After a brief disappearance it turned up again on the Solway Firth in September 2002. | ||
==Taxonomy== | ==Taxonomy== | ||
Slightly larger western USA birds are sometimes separated as ''brewsteri''. | Slightly larger western USA birds are sometimes separated as ''brewsteri''. | ||
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==External Links== | ==External Links== | ||
| − | {{GSearch| | + | {{GSearch|Egretta_thula}} |
[[Category:Birds]] [[Category:Egretta]] | [[Category:Birds]] [[Category:Egretta]] | ||
*[http://www.geocities.com/secaribbirds/idlittlesnowyegret An identification essay comparing Little and Snowy Egrets] | *[http://www.geocities.com/secaribbirds/idlittlesnowyegret An identification essay comparing Little and Snowy Egrets] | ||
Revision as of 08:41, 8 August 2009
- Egretta thula
Identification
61 cm. Slim black bill, long black legs with yellow feet. The area of the upper bill, in front of the eyes, is yellow but turns red during the breeding season (Feb-Jul), when the adults also gain recurved plumes on the back, making for a "shaggy" effect. The juvenile looks similar to the adult, but the base of the bill is paler, and a green or yellow line runs down the back of the legs.
Distribution
Breeds in North America on the east coast from Long Island south to Florida, on the Gulf Coast and inland in the lower Mississippi Valley, on the southern California coast and also in scattered inland areas mainly from the Central Valley of California east to Colorado. To the south breeds on both Mexican coasts and over much of Central America and in South America south to Valdivia in Chile in the west and Buenos Aires, Argentina in the east.
Northernmost and inland populations are migratory and move southwards, coastal birds are more sedentary but post-breeding dispersal takes some birds north to southern Canada.
In the Western Palearctic recorded three times in or near Iceland, and five have been seen in the Azores. The first, and so far only, British record was of an immature on Seil Island in Argyll, Scotland in October 2001 and still present in the general area in June 2002. After a brief disappearance it turned up again on the Solway Firth in September 2002.
Taxonomy
Slightly larger western USA birds are sometimes separated as brewsteri.
Habitat
Lakeshores and riverbanks, mangroves, shallow lagoons and on tidal mudflats and estuaries, sometimes on grasslands.
Behaviour
They nest in colonies. The flat, shallow nests are made of sticks and lined with fine twigs and rushes. 3-4 greenish-blue, oval eggs are incubated by both adults. The young leave the nest in 20 to 25 days.
The diet includes fish, crustaceans, and insects. They stalk prey in shallow water, often running or shuffling their feet, flushing prey into view.
