species of bird From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The great egret (Ardea alba) (also known an the common egret, large egret, great white egret, or great white heron) is a large wading bird found worldwide.
Great egret | |
---|---|
Great egret | |
Scientific classification | |
Kingdom: | |
Class: | |
Order: | |
Family: | |
Genus: | |
Binomial name | |
Ardea alba | |
It is the second-largest member of the heron family in America (second only to the great blue heron). It lives in mudflats, tidal shallows marshes, lakes, rivers and flooded paddy fields. It winters in the south down to Colombia. The great egret flies with slow wing beats and has a deep, croaking call. It is 90-102 cm long.
The great egret eats fish, lizards, frogs, crayfish, small rodents, and insects. It often hunts in shallow water, usually impaling the prey on its long, sharp bill.
The great egret's nest is a platform of twigs and sticks that is built in trees or on the ground. Females lay 3-5 pale blue-green eggs in each clutch (a set of eggs laid at one time). The incubation period of the eggs is 23–26 days.
Birds of the Indian Subcontinent-2010, Oxford University Press, Richard Grimmett, Carol Inskipp, Tim Inskipp
Seamless Wikipedia browsing. On steroids.
Every time you click a link to Wikipedia, Wiktionary or Wikiquote in your browser's search results, it will show the modern Wikiwand interface.
Wikiwand extension is a five stars, simple, with minimum permission required to keep your browsing private, safe and transparent.