Snowy Egret                                                                                                                                    Egretta thula 

habitat: from northern California to Maine, and south Florida. The Gulf of Mexico and much of South America.

domain: Eukarya
kingdom: Animalia
phylum: Chordata
class: Aves
order: Ciconiformes
family: Ardeidae
genus: Egretta
species: thula


Snowy Egrets have bilateral symmetry. They are white with black legs, a black beak, and yellow feet. They also have a yellow patch of skin around their eyes. A female's length is 22-26 in. and a male's is 56-66 in. Two functional adaptations are their long, thin toes to help it step through the water more easily and its sharp, narrow bill for catching prey. An interesting fact is that they sometimes mate with other heron species and produce hybrid offspring. Their predators are raccoons,Gray Rat Snakes, Great Horned Owls, and American Crows. Their prey are fish, insects, crustaceans, crayfish, frogs, snakes, snails, worms, lizards, and rodents. Snowy Egrets are heterotrophic and endothermic.