Snowy Egret

Snowy Egret

 (Egrettathula)

Photographed in the wild, Cape Coral, Florida   Apr 2006

The Snowy is distinguished from the Great egret by its smaller size, its black bill, and yellow feet.

The Snowy Egret can be spotted on the edge of water and marshes. Their main foods are fish, crabs, amphibians, and insects.

In the late 19th early twentieth century, Snowy Egret plumes were popular on hats. The result was that these birds were hunted until they were nearly extinct.

Snowy Egrets breed once a year and females lay 3 to 5 greenish blue eggs that hatch in 3 to 4 weeks. Their platform-like nests are built primarily of twigs and are located in trees about seven feet above the ground.

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Great Egret

Great White Egret

 (Ardea Alba)

Photographed in the wild, Naples, Florida  Apr 2008

The Great Egret is found across much of the world, from southern Canada southward to Argentina, and in Europe, Africa, Asia, and Australia. It's the largest egret in the Old World, and thus has garnered the name Great White Egret. But the white form of the Great Blue Heron is larger and warrants that name.

The Great Egret is the symbol of the National Audubon Society, one of the oldest environmental organizations in North America. Audubon was founded to protect birds from being killed for their feathers.

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Cattle Egret

Cattle Egret

(Bubulcus ibis)

Photographed in the wild,

Cape Coral, Florida Mar 2006

Tigertail Beach, Marco Island, Florida   Mar 2013

The Cattle Egret is native to Africa and Asia, and only reached the Americas in the late 19th century. It was first found in north-eastern South America in 1877, having probably arrived there from Africa. It reached the United States in 1941, and started nesting by 1953.

In the next 50 years, it became one of the most abundant of the North American herons. It has occurred all the way to Alaska and Newfoundland, and has bred in nearly all states.

Cattle Egret is more at home foraging in grass than in water. It follows cattle, horses, and tractors to catch the insects they stir up. It also is attracted by smoke from a large fire. Egrets come from long distances to catch insects trying to escape the fire.

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Egrets

Cattle                            Great White                          Snowy

Many egrets are members which also contain other species named as herons rather than egrets. The distinction between a heron and an egret is rather vague, and depends more on appearance than biology. The word "egret" comes from the French word "aigrette" that means both "silver heron" and "brush", referring to the long filamentous feathers that seem to cascade down an egret's back during the breeding season.

Also see Herons and Ibis