Snowy egret

Natalie Richards

field guide

November 16, 2015

Snowy egret

The snowy egret lives in tidal marshes and wetlands, as well as ponds and mud flats. The scientific name is Egretta thula. The snowy egret has bilateral symmetry, heterotrophic, and endothermic. An interesting fact about this organism is that it’s call is a low croak, and during breeding season it might make a woola-woola-woola sound. Another fact about this organism is that adult Snowy Egrets have greenish-yellow feet for most of the year, but at the height of the breeding season their feet take on a much richer, orange-yellow hue. The bare skin on their face also changes color, from yellow to a shade of red. The length of both genders is 56-66 cm, the weight is 13.1oz, and the wingspan is 100 cm. They have a slim black bill, black feet, and feather plumes all over it’s body. Snowy egrets eat mostly fish and crustaceans, but will also feed on frogs, snakes, worms and insects. Owls, hawks, raccoons, and snakes eat snowy egrets and their babies. The domain of the snow egret is eukaryote, and the kingdom is animalia. Also, the phylum is chordata, which means it has a backbone. Next, the class is aves, the order is pelecaniformes, and the family is ardeidae. Lastly, the genus is Egretta, and the species is thula. The genus and the species are the names that make up the scientific name. A functional adaptation that the snowy egret has is that it has long, thin toes help it step easily through the water. A structural adaptation is that the snowy egret has big feet to help it paddle or probe in the mud. Lastly, a behavioral adaptation is that the snowy egret will round up it’s prey, then strike it with its bill, making the prey secure and ready to eat!