Snowy Egret
The scientific name of the snowy egret is Egretta thula. The habitat of these beautiful birds is marshes, swamps, ponds and shores. They live mainly on the East Coast and Southeastern United States. Also in many parts of California and the Caribbean. The domain of the snowy egret is eukaryote, the kingdom is animalia, the phylum is chordata, and the class is aves. The order is ciconiiformes, the family is ardeidae, the genus is Egretta and the species is thula. This bird has bilateral symmetry and that is when you can divide something in half, and both sides will be equal. The snowy egret is graceful, and small. It is all white with a black beak, black legs, and yellow feet. One behavioral adaptation is when snowy egrets feed in shallow water, they will use one foot to stir up the water to bring predators into view. Another behavioral adaptation is when trying to catch fish in water they will hover over the top of the water and catch the fish with their bill. The bills of these egrets are skinny, long, and pointed so these birds can dive into the water easily to catch prey faster which is a structural adaptation. An interesting fact about these birds is, they get the name snowy egret (Egretta thula) from the white plumage that was hunted during the nineteenth century and used for adornments on hats. The prey of these gorgeous birds are fish, insects, and crustaceans like crabs, snails, and frogs. The predators of snowy egrets are raccoons, crows, reptiles, humans, and raptors. These animals are heterotrophs which means that they get their energy off of other organisms and they are endotherms which means that they can regulate their own body temperature. Two sources I used are Snowy Egret | Audubon Field Guide and http://www.ct.gov/deep/cwp/view.asp?q=326088.
By Hannah Pierce
This is a painting that is in my living room of the snowy egret!
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