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Birds of Zihuatanejo

CLASS AVES

Great Egret

Ardea alba

-Animals (Kingdom Animalia)

-Chordates (Phylum Chordata)

-Vertebrates (Subphylum Vertebrata)

-Birds (Class Aves)

-Pelicans, Herons, Ibises, and Allies (Order Pelecaniformes)

-Herons, Egrets, and Bitterns (Family Ardeidae)

-Typical Herons and Egrets (Subfamily Ardeinae)

-Great Herons (Genus Ardea)

-Great Egret (Ardea alba)


Great Egrets are, tall, long-legged wading birds with long, S-curved necks and long, dagger-like bills. In flight, the long neck is tucked in and the legs extend far beyond the tip of the short tail. they are completely white with a long yellow bill and dark gray legs. The ideal location for great egrets is near any form of water. Streams, lakes, ponds, mud flats, saltwater and freshwater marshes are inhabited the Great Egret. Wooded swamps and wetlands are the preferred location for Great Egrets. Frogs, snakes, crayfish, fish, mice, crickets, aquatic insects, grasshoppers, and many other insects constitute the typical diet of a Great Egret.

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