Penny Wallace

October 16, 2015

English/Science

The Great Egret

            The Great Egret, Andrea alba, is 39in tall. This organism has a 55in wingspan. That’s huge! Also, it is white, has black feet, and has a long yellow beak. The feathers on the Great Egret are white and smooth. The Great Egret lives in tidal marshes and wetlands, as well as ponds and mud flats. The region of this organism is North American wetlands. Something interesting about this organism is that it is the largest of the bay species. Also another interesting fact, is that the Great Egret is aggressive to other birds during courtship, nesting, and feeding. Predators to this organism are Cows, Vultures, and Raccoons are a predator to the Great Egrets eggs. Prey for this organism are Frogs, Crayfish, Snakes, Snails, and tiny fish. The domain to this organism is eukaryote and the kingdom is animalia. The phylum is chordata and the class is aves. The order is pelecaniformes and the family is adeldae. The genus and species to the Great Egret is Ardea alba. This organism is a heterotroph and is endothermic. Also, the Great Egret has bilateral symmetry. An adaptation to this organism is that the Great Egret has great vision to locate prey. Another adaptation is that it has a long neck so that the Great Egret can move its head rapidly to spear prey. One more adaptation is that this organism has long legs for wading in shallow water. All three of these adaptations are structural due to the fact that all of these adaptations help the Great Egret on the outside. I am very excited to learn 
more about other organisms.

(Works cited) I got my information from:

"Great Egret"

http://www.chesapeakebay.net/fieldguide/critter/great_egret, http://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/great_egret/id, and http://animals.nationalgeographic.com/animals/birds/great-egret/

19 Oct. 2015