egret (ēgrĕt`), common name for several species of herons of the Old and New Worlds, belonging to the family Ardeidae. Before they were protected by law the birds were nearly exterminated by hunters seeking their beautiful, white, silky plumage called aigrettes, used in millinery. These feathers develop during the breeding season. In the American egret the plumes are straight, about 21 in. (52.5 cm) long, growing on the back. The smaller snowy egret, or snowy heron (
Leucophoyx thula), the most beautiful and most hunted, has curved plumes on the back, head, and breast. The reddish egret (
Dichromanassa rufa) is white part of the year, changing to grayish with brown head and neck. The greater and lesser egrets are European species. Egrets are classified in the phylum
Chordata Chordata , phylum of animals having a notochord, or dorsal stiffening rod, as the chief internal skeletal support at some stage of their development. Most chordates are vertebrates (animals with backbones), but the phylum also includes some small marine invertebrate
..... Click the link for more information. , subphylum Vertebrata, class Aves, order Herodiones, family Ardeidae.
egret
Common egret (Egretta alba)
(credit: R.F. Head from The National Audubon Society Collection/Photo Researchers)
Any of several species (mainly in the genus Egretta) of wading birds in the same family (Ardeidae) as
herons and
bitterns. Egrets live in marshes, lakes, humid forests, and other wetland environments worldwide. They catch and eat small fishes, amphibians, reptiles, mammals, and crustaceans. They nest in trees and bushes or on the ground. Most are white and develop long plumes for the breeding season. The value of plumes as ornamental objects once drove egrets to near-extinction, but changes in fashion and strict conservation measures have allowed their numbers to increase. The great white egret is about 35 in. (90 cm) long; other common species average 20–24 in. (50–60 cm) long.
egret any of various wading birds of the genera
Egretta, Hydranassa, etc., that are similar to herons but usually have a white plumage and, in the breeding season, long feathery plumes (see
aigrette): family
Ardeidae, order
Ciconiiformes
Egret a genus of birds of the order Ciconiiformes. There are nine species of egrets distributed widely in tropical and subtropical zones. In the USSR there are two nesting species, the great white heron (Egretta alba) and little egret (E. garzetta), and two casual species, the lesser egret (E. intermedia) and Swinhoe’s egret (E. eulophotes), which are found in Primor’e. The plumage is white; some species have elongated, decorative feathers (aigrettes). The birds nest in colonies, and the nests are built on bent reeds and rushes, in trees and bushes, and along the shores of bodies of water. There are three or four eggs in the clutch. The hatching takes 25–26 days. Egrets feed on small fish, insects, and small mammals. In the 19th and 20th centuries, because of the high value placed on egret plumes and the growth of the millinery industry, egrets were in danger of complete extinction. In the USSR they are protected by law.
REFERENCE
Ptitsy Sovetskogo Soiuza, vol. 2. Edited by G. P. Dement’ev and N. A. Gladkov. Moscow, 1951.
)