Heron is a bird that everyone recognizes where she is. Characteristic long legs, a specific voice and relatively small sizes do not allow you to confuse the individual with any other feathered. See a bird that has become a symbol of many folk tales, often appears in verses and other forms of folk art.
Description of the species
Egyptian heron differs from their relatives with purely white plumage. Feathers throughout the body are long, fluffy. Closer to autumn, they fall out. The beak of the bird is dark gray, almost black, with a small yellow spot at the base. The legs of the Egyptian herons are black.
During the wedding period, the color of the opera in females and males is the same: purely white with a wine tint on the back, head and goiter. The structure of feathers in these areas, rational, elongated. During the formation of steam, bright yellow rare feathers of red color on the crown and back may appear, the legs and beak acquire a bright pink color, and the eyes are saturated yellow color.
As for the size of the bird, it is not much larger than the crow: the length of the body is 48-53 cm, and the weight is no more than a half-kilogram. Despite the small size, the wings of the poultry can reach 96 cm. The bird behaves very briskly: it does not wait for prey, but actively hunts. The place of food is not always on the water, often the Egyptian heron is looking for food in the fields and in the thickets of shrubs.
The voice of the Egyptian heron is different from other, larger types: the crackling sounds of this species are higher, jerky and sharp.
Habitat
The Egyptian heron is found on all continents. Most of the representatives in the following areas:
Egyptian heron most often build their nests on the banks of large and medium rivers and other reservoirs, in marshy areas of forests, in rice fields and near the reservoirs. The female lays eggs at high altitude-at least 8-10 meters. In winter, birds fly to Africa.
Egyptian seagulls live in large colonies, which consist of several types. Monovodic settlements are quite rare. Individuals behave quite aggressively: they protect their nests during the hatching of eggs, and also aggressively belongs to other representatives of the colony.
Diet
The main component of the diet of the Egyptian heron is green insects, which it often catches on the back of cattle and horses. Most often, the heron hunts for grasshoppers, dragonflies, locusts, water beetles and larvae. If there is no such “food”, the Egyptian heron will not refuse spiders, bear, scolopendra and other mollusks. On water, the bird gets food much less often, as it feels more comfortable in the air, and not in the reservoir. Frogs are also suitable as food.
Interesting Facts
There are several distinctive features of the Egyptian heron, which are of interest not only among researchers, but also among bird lovers:
- The Egyptian heron can stand on one leg for several hours.
- The bird uses one leg for support to warm the other.
- The Egyptian heron actively hunts both daytime and at night.
- During the wedding period, the male of the Egyptian heron to attract the female can dance and “sing”.
- If the female of the Egyptian tsapli is the first to show the initiative, the male can beat her and drive her out of the pack.
