Grace Richards
Mrs. Cook Science
Friday, October 16, 2015
Snowy Egret
Egretta thula
The Snowy Egret lives in tidal marshes, wetlands, and ponds from around the Chesapeake Bay to South America. Its Domain is Eukaryote, its Kingdom is Animalia, and its Phylum is Chordata. A Snowy Egret is in the Class Aves, the Order Ciconiiformes, the Family Ardea, the Genus Egretta, and the Species thula. The Snowy Egret has bilateral symmetry and can be recognized by its white body, skinny black legs, black bill, and yellow feet. A Snowy Egret can grow to up to 27 inches tall with a wingspan of up to 41 inches. One structural adaptation that Snowy Egrets have is that they have a long, slender bill to plunge into the water to catch fish. A behavioral adaptation is that the Snowy Egret stirs up mud with its feet to find its prey in the water. A functional adaptation is that Snowy Egrets roost together in large groups called “rookeries” for protection. Snowy Egrets are heterotrophic, which means they eat other heterotrophs or autotrophs, in this case, fish, crustaceans, frogs, and snakes. A Snowy Egret’s predators are hawks, owls, and sometimes raccoons. They have radial symmetry and are Endothermic. One interesting fact about Snowy Egrets is that they can live up to 17 years old!
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