The is nothing as white or as graceful as the Snowy Egret. It's a small heron that can be found along coastal bays and inlets. One can be mesmerized by the lovely way it can hunt a school of fish. The elegant bird starts its hunt as a motionless statue for minutes, only a shifting eye and frequent head angle reveal that the bird is conscious. It darts it's bill into the water, throws its head back and swallows its prey.
The 24 inch tall bird has jet black legs and a black bill to match. The yellow patch by its eyes gives way to the orange yellow feet which the bird uses as hunting tools. The Snowy egret is an example of an environmental success story.
The egret uses its long, white, virginal feathers it grows each spring to impress potential mates. However, their beauty almost cost them their lives. Their feathers were highly desired for women hat decorations at the turn of the 20th century. At one point, Snowy Egret feathers were worth more per ounce than gold. The birds were slaughtered almost to extinction.
The egrets story inspired the establishment of the Migratory Bird Treaty Act which is celebrating its 100th anniversary this year. The Act protected the bird from near extinction and now is thriving along the coastlines of New York beaches where they spend the summer.
They nest on remote islands where they obtain their elegant fathers each spring. During the summer when the birds breed and rear young, they lose their fine feathers and migrate for miles down to florida, the Caribbean and even South America.
http://www.nytimes.com/2016/08/07/nyregion/snowy-egrets-once-fashion-victims-always-elegant-predators.html
https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Snowy_Egret/id
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