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Bird. Feeding in the shallow areas of ponds and marshes, snowy egrets use one foot to stir up the bottom of the water, flushing prey into view. They will also chase schools of fish. A mating pair of snowy egrets cannot recognize each another except at the nest, where the returning egret performs a greeting ritual to avoid being attacked as an intruder. While in flight, the snowy egret holds his or her neck in an “S” curve. In the latter 19th century, their plumes were popularly used on hats. As a result, the birds were hunted until they were nearly extinct. They are now protected and the population has been slowly recovering. |
| Scientific
Name |
Lifespan |
| Egretta thula |
16 years |
| Diet |
| Carnivore. Small fish, fiddler crabs and other crustaceans, snakes and other reptiles, amphibians, snails, and insects. |
| Predators and Threats |
| Raccoons, mustelids, raptors, crows, reptiles, and humans. |
| Habitat |
| Marshes, swamps, ponds, lakes, shallow coastal areas and tidal flats, occasionally found in dry fields; North and South America. |
