Oh, those golden slippers!The Snowy EgretThe snowy egrets, with little black legs, bright yellow feet, and a black bill, are known
for their fluffy plumes during breeding season. It once was the fad, but not any more,
for women to wear these plumes in their hats and on dresses. According to Scott Weidensaul in his book,
The Birder's Miscellany, bird watchers gave the nickname of "golden slippers"
to the snowy egrets because of their bright yellow feet. Their favorite hunting ground
is in the shallow water looking for a crab, worm, small fish, or whatever wiggles. It's
fun to see them chomp away and swallow the little creatures found beneath the water (and on land).
This bird is sometimes mixed up with the immature little blue heron, a white bird with green legs
and feet, and a bluish bill. Bang!The Cattle EgretLike a big firecracker, the cattle egret population exploded and it became one of the more common birds found in Florida and around the world. The nickname of "white starling" was given to it because of the similarity of the population growth of the starling bird. Clewiston, Florida was the first area to see the cattle egret from West Africa. Apparently they flew in with some of the high winds that developed during severe storms in the 1880s, and landed in Surinam, South America. From there, they popped into Florida like white popcorn fresh out of the kettle. They love to follow cattle or grazing animals and pick up insects and critters of their choice. They have a stubbier bill than the snowy egret. The cattle egret love to eat frogs as they search the area for other tasty morsels like a worm or fat bug of some sort. When this egret is there, frogs beware! No fooling! The Great EgretThe great egret, known for its large size as compared with the snowy and cattle egret, is something to see when it hunts the unusual prey. These birds can be seen standing at the edge of a pond and suddenly take flight, fly across the pond and land on a growth of bushes. It is astonishing to see the bird plunge its bill into the bushes and come out with a sparrow. It flies back to its original roost, and proceeds to make a meal out of it. Believe it or not, an
egret caught a snake over two feet long, killed it, and swallowed it whole.Strange things happen as you can see; but it all evolves around Mother Nature and her methods of providing those wonderful, beautiful birds with food and a space of their own. |
