A small white heron that rarely grow longer than 24 inches (61 centimeters)and tops out in weight around .827 pounds (375 grams), the snowy egret is the American relative of the Little Egret often found in the Bahamas. Found in places like The Great Lakes area, South America, and the Atlantic and Gulf Coasts, the snowy egret is commonly found nesting in colonies on platforms of sticks in trees and shrubs. They make nests out of fine twigs and rushes, with these nests often having a flat and shallow quality to them. Inside the nests, the snowy egret lays three to four greenish-blue eggs that are incubated by both the mother and the father. For the first month of an egret’s life, it will travel by hoping from branch to branch, before finally flying off to go out on its own.

As an adult, the egret survives off of fish, crustaceans, insects, and small reptiles. They hunt by stalking prey in shallow water, shuffling their feet to drive their targets into plain sight. They are also know to hunt by “dip fishing”, which is a process in which birds fly just above the water and pluck out prey with their feet. An opportunistic creature, the egret has also been observed to pick off the insect disturbed by domestic animals in fields. The egret, known as the “most elegant” of the herons with its long curling white feathers, was once endangered because it was hunted for its plumes to supply the fashion world’s demand, but successful conservation efforts have led to a massive rebound in their population.