Stats

Lifespan: Up to 17 yrs
Size: Medium
Diet: Carnivore
Activity: Diurnal
Social: Colony
Biome: Freshwater wetland
Range: The Americas
Movement: Flight
Breeding: Egg-laying
Defense: Herd Safety
Status: Common

About

The Snowy Egret is a slender white heron of the Americas, instantly recognised by its jet-black bill and legs contrasted against brilliant yellow feet. It was hunted nearly to extinction in the late 19th century for its delicate breeding plumes, a crisis that helped spark the modern conservation movement.

Life cycle

1.
egg
A clutch of eggs is incubated in the nest, kept warm by a brooding parent until the chicks pip free.
2.
hatchling
A naked or downy hatchling is fed in the nest by its parents.
3.
juvenile
A feathered juvenile fledges from the nest and learns to fly and forage.
4.
adult
Fully grown with adult plumage.

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Taxonomy

Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Aves
Order: Pelecaniformes
Family: Ardeidae
Genus: Egretta
Species: Egretta thula