Snowy Egret Diet

The snowy egret (Egretta thula) is an attractive wading bird that frequents coastal marshes, mudflats, ponds and swamps across many parts of the United States, Mexico, the Caribbean and Central and South America. The snowy egret is a species of heron that takes its name from its white plumage, which provides a contrast to its black bill and legs. The diet of the snowy egret consists of whatever small creatures it manages to capture in the water and on land.

  1. Types

    • The Connecticut Department of Environmental Protection site notes that many types of small creatures make up the diet of the snowy egret. The bird will take animals like fish, crayfish, shrimp, snails, snakes and crabs from an aquatic setting. On land, the snowy egret catches and eats such things as lizards, frogs, earthworms and insects. On occasion, the snowy egret will eat some aquatic plants.

    Resource Partitioning

    • The snowy egret frequently will look for food as part of a group of other egrets, with as many as 40 egrets at a time searching for a meal. The snowy egret will feed alongside other herons, a process known as resource partitioning, according to the Smithsonian Marine Station at Fort Pierce. This term describes different species co-existing as they compete for food by each choosing a slightly different type. When in such groups, the snowy egret will typically target the smaller animals, allowing competitors to capture larger food. The "National Audubon Society Field Guide to Birds" says that, because the snowy egret is so visible, when large numbers join in one place to eat, it permits others in the area to locate them, knowing that the feeding in that particular spot is good.

    Aquatic Feeding Habits

    • The snowy egret employs an array of methods to capture its meals. It often stands completely still and then strikes with its ong beak at anything that swims by. This technique seems to yield the greatest success, yet the snowy egret will only use it about 10 percent of the time. The bird will frequently wade at a slow pace through the water and stir up the bottom by vibrating its feet, frightening anything hiding in the shallows into the open where the egret can try to stab it. Other times, the egret will sprint through the water, trying to chase down minnows and other foods. The snowy egret will also fly over the water and plunge down onto its prey when it sees it below the surface.

    Terrestrial Feeding Habits

    • On land, the snowy egret will go into a field and dislodge insects as it walks, or run about and flush bugs into view. In some cases, the snowy egret will follow closely behind larger grazing animals such as cattle and horses and take advantage of the insects that these animals stir up.

    Feeding the Young

    • The chicks of the snowy egret receive a diet provided to them by their parents. Fish species such as mosquitofish and killifish, as well as grass shrimp, are typical fare. The parents will capture and eat the food and then return to the nest where they regurgitate it for the youngsters to eat.