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Egretta thula (Snowy egret)
Sneeuwitreier [Afrikaans]; Amerikaanse kleine zilverreiger
[Dutch]; Aigrette neigeuse [French]; Schmuckreiher [German]
Life
> Eukaryotes >
Opisthokonta
> Metazoa (animals) >
Bilateria >
Deuterostomia > Chordata >
Craniata > Vertebrata (vertebrates) > Gnathostomata (jawed
vertebrates) > Teleostomi (teleost fish) > Osteichthyes (bony fish) > Class:
Sarcopterygii (lobe-finned
fish) > Stegocephalia (terrestrial
vertebrates) > Tetrapoda
(four-legged vertebrates) > Reptiliomorpha > Amniota >
Reptilia (reptiles) >
Romeriida > Diapsida > Archosauromorpha > Archosauria >
Dinosauria
(dinosaurs) > Saurischia > Theropoda (bipedal predatory dinosaurs) >
Coelurosauria > Maniraptora > Aves
(birds) > Order: Ciconiiformes
> Family: Ardeidae
Distribution and habitat
Occurs in the Americas and West Indies, dispersing widely
after breeding. It has been recorded once in southern Africa - a juvenile was
sighted which stayed at Sandvlei, Cape Peninsula, South Africa in April 2002. It
generally favours lakes, marshes, ponds, shallow lagoons, mangroves and
mudflats, rarely occurring on dryland meadows.
Food
It eats mainly fish, crustaceans and aquatic insects, doing
most of its foraging buy stirring its foot in shallow water to flush prey.
Threats
Not threatened.
References
-
Hockey PAR, Dean WRJ and Ryan PG 2005. Roberts
- Birds of southern Africa, VIIth ed. The Trustees of the John Voelcker
Bird Book Fund, Cape Town.
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