Snow egrets are similar in appearance to Great egrets, but are smaller than Great egrets. Great egrets have yellow-orange bills, whereas Snow egrets have black bills. During the breeding season, adult Snowy Egrets develop long, wispy feathers on their backs, necks, and heads. Plume-hunting for the fashion industry killed many Snowy Egrets
雪鷺與大白鷺外觀很相像，但是比大白鷺小，而且大白鷺有黃橘色的喙，而雪鷺有黑色的喙。在繁殖季節，成年雪鷺會在背，脖子和頭上長出纖細的羽毛，以至時裝業獵殺了許多雪鷺。
Photo Date: 2021.03.31 Location: Santa Fe Dam
Photo Date: 2021.03.11 Location: Santa Fe Dam
Notes 筆記
- The snowy egret is a small white heron. The genus name comes from Provençal French for the little egret, aigrette, which is a diminutive of aigron, ‘heron’. The species name thula is the Araucano term for the black-necked swan, applied to this species in error by Chilean naturalist Juan Ignacio Molina in 1782.
- Snowy Egret sets off immaculate white plumage with black legs and brilliant yellow feet. Immature snowy egrets have duller, greenish legs.
- The Snowy Egret eats mostly aquatic animals, including fish, frogs, worms, crustaceans, and insects. It often uses its bright yellow feet to paddle in the water or probe in the mud, rounding up prey before striking with its bill.
- Males establish nesting territories and choose nest sites within the thick vegetation of a breeding colony. The nest is usually in the top or outer branches of a woody vine, shrub, or tree.
- Male Snowy Egrets fight for breeding territories, choose nest sites, and perform noisy courtship displays to attract mates.
- Male and female Snowy Egrets take turns incubating their eggs. As one mate takes over for the other, it sometimes presents a stick, almost as if passing a baton. Both parents continue caring for the young when they hatch.
- Snowy Egrets sometimes mate with other heron species and produce hybrid offspring. They have been known to hybridize with Tricolored Herons, Little Blue Herons, and Cattle Egrets.
- Some of their nest predators include raccoons, Great Horned Owls, Barred Owls, American Crows, Fish Crows, American alligators, and gray rat snakes.
- During the breeding season, adult Snowy Egrets develop long, wispy feathers on their backs, necks, and heads. Plume-hunting for the fashion industry killed many Snowy Egrets and other birds until reforms were passed in the early twentieth century.
- 雪鷺是一種小的白鷺。 屬名來自普羅旺斯法語，意為小白鷺，它是矮小的鷺。 物種名雪鷺thula是Araucano語的黑頸天鵝，智利博物學家胡安·伊格納西奧·莫利納(Juan Ignacio Molina）在1782年將其誤用於此物種。
- 雪鷺以黑色的腿和鮮黃色的腳襯托出完美的白色羽毛。未成年的白鷺的腿是較暗的綠色。
- 雪鷺主要吃水生動物，包括魚，青蛙，蠕蟲，甲殼動物和昆蟲。它經常用鮮黃色的腳在水中划動或在泥漿中探查，先將獵物聚攏，然後再用它的喙攻擊獵物。
- 雄性建立築巢地，並在繁殖羣的茂密植被中選築巢地點。巢通常在木質藤本，灌木或樹木的頂部或外部分支中。
- 雄性雪鷺為爭奪繁殖的地盤而戰，它選擇巢穴，並用嘈雜的求愛行為來吸引伴侶。
- 雌性與雄性雪鷺輪流孵卵。 當一個伴侶接替另一個伴侶時，有時會出現一根棍子，就像是用接力棒一樣。 雌雄親鳥在孵化時都繼續照顧年幼的雛鳥。
- 雪鷺有時會與其他蒼鷺交配並產生雜交後代。 已知它們會與三色鷺，小藍鷺和牛背鷺雜交。
- 它們的一些巢捕食者有浣熊，大雕鴞，橫斑林鴞，短嘴鴉，漁鴉，短吻鱷和滑鼠蛇。
- 在繁殖季節，成年雪鷺會在背，脖子和頭上長出纖細的羽毛。直到20世紀初改革之前，時裝業獵殺了許多雪鷺和其他鳥類。
References 參考資料
- Wikipedia: Snowy egret
- All about birds: Snowy Egret
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