Great Egret facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Great Egret |
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| Great Egret | |
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A. alba
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| Ardea alba |
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The Great Egret (also known an the Common Egret) is a large wading bird found worldwide.
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 and marshes. It winters in the south down to Colombia. The Great Egret flies with slow wing beats and has a deep, croaking call.
The scientific name of the Great Egret is Ardea alba (genus and species).
Contents
Diet
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.
Egg and Nests
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.
Images for kids
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Adult In flight
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Adult sitting on a bridge in California
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Spearing a fish
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Great egret during mating season at High Island
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Egg, Collection Museum Wiesbaden
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Adult in nonbreeding plumage
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Bright green facial skin during breeding season
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Parent on nest with chicks
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Great egret at Centennial Lakes Park in Edina, Minnesota
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Stuffed specimens at the American Museum of Natural History
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Plunging its head into the water to hunt inside Green-Wood Cemetery in Brooklyn
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Adult at Piraqueaçu River in Santa Cruz in Brazil
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Adult in flight over Lake Coatepeque, El Salvador
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Adult male A. a. modesta' in the Tamar River Conservation Area
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Great egret in Bitsa Park, Moscow, Russia
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See also
In Spanish: Ardea alba para niños
