10 Best Patterned Leggings

Best Patterned Leggings in 2023

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The Great Egret: Its History, Distribution, Reproductive Habits, and Feeding Tactics

Once prized for their long, white plumes, the great egret was nearly extinct at the beginning of the century, but thanks to years of protection the species has now become a popular sight along the coast, in ponds, or in marshes.

History

What is now a common sight along most coastal waters, ponds , and marshes, was not always so - at the turn of the 20th century, it became very stylish if you were a woman to wear a big, elaborate hat. According to the Vintage Fashion Guild, hats became so large during the era from 1870 to 1910 that it was usually necessary to support them with rolls, braids, or other supports fashioned from the hair taken from a woman's hairbrush. This is how the ideal Gibson Girl look was achieved - and the hats did not actually rest on the woman's head so much as on the extra supports. These hats often featured the long, white plumes found on the egret, and such a demand grew for their feathers that the creatures were nearly hunted into extinction. The word egret is derived from the French aigrette, meaning "plume". The Audubon Society was formed at that time by a group of concerned citizens who wanted to protect the egret from being hunted. The "aigrettes" were most desired when the bird had young, so there were often nestlings left to starve once the mother bird was shot and killed for her feathers. Or the father bird, as both sexes develop 40 -50 long nuptial plumes during the breeding season. Their avian cousins, the Snowy Egret, also has white plumes, is softer and smaller, and was also threatened by the demand for fashionable hats. In fact, the over- the-top hat styles of the turn of the century became symbolic for the excesses often found in fashion. Due to the public outcry against the cruelty and the efforts of the Audubon Society, the Great Egret has made a comeback and now exists over much of its original range, but they are not as protected elsewhere, and south of the US they are still vulnerable to the market for their plumage.

Characteristics

The Great Egret has a wingspan only second to the largest member of the heron family, the Great Blue Heron. Its legs are blackish, and it hunts by being so still it appears to be a couple of reeds to other animal life unfortunate enough to venture within range of its spear-like beak, which is yellow in adults, save for the black tip, whereas younger egrets have mostly all black beaks. This bird has a croaking call similar to other members of the heron family, and flies in an S-shape - that is, it has such a long neck it has to curve it back once and "fold" some of it out of its way. The Snowy Egret is a more active bird, and does a lot of running around and pursuing its prey, while the larger Great Egret stands still, graceful and patient, with its head cocked like a gun, ready to stab the next unsuspecting prey that comes along. I always leave after I've been watching one with a renewed respect for the virtue of patience.

Feeding

The Great Egret eats a variety of aquatic life, and is considered a friend to the rice farmer because of its heavy consumption of crayfish. They also like frogs, snakes, and fish. I have seen them stab and not come up with anything, but that is almost always due to the fact that the prey was alerted somehow, not because the bird missed. They have very good aim.

Reproduction and Nesting

The Great Egret commonly nests in swamp woods or thickets near the water along with other water fowl. If possible, the nests are made up high like osprey nests - 20 to 40 feet up - if large trees are nearby, but nests can also be quite low, particularly if they are over the water. The nest itself is a rather small, loosely made platform of mostly flat sticks, without much lining inside, and the 3 or 4 eggs are a pale blue-green. I haven't ever seen an egret nest - probably because the bird knows enough to hide its young in an out-of-the-way place where I wouldn't be able to go.

Range

The Great Egret occurs on every continent in the world, and is widespread throughout North America. Breeding takes place from central New Jersey, northern Ohio, southern Wisconsin, Utah, and Oregon south. After the breeding season, egrets wander north as far as Nova Scotia, southern Ontario, southern Manitoba, and Washington. They tend to move north in more numbers some years than they do in others. During the winter, egrets migrate to South Carolina, southern Louisiana, and south of central California. Smart birds!

Sources:

The Bird
Pough, Richard H., Audubon Water Bird Guide, 1951, Doubleday amp; Company, Inc., Garden City, NY, p. 42.

The Fashions

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