Herons belong to the Order Ciconiiformes.
The Snowy egret, Egretta thula , is a medium-size,
white wading bird with a 38-inch wingspan. It is 20 inches tall.
The sexes are similar. The legs and neck are long. The neck is
held in an S curve in flight. The bill is thin and black. The
facial skin is yellow. The legs are black; the feet are yellow.
In breeding season, it has lacy plumes on its head, neck and
back.
The immature Snowy is similar. It has a
yellow stripe on the back of its black legs. The bill is pale
and it lacks the lacy plumes.
The Snowy likes to nest near open water,
marshes and wetlands. 
The nesting site is selected by the male. Both
parents build the nest either on the ground or in a bush. It
is made of reeds and twigs. They produce a clutch of from 3 to
5 eggs. The incubation period is from 20 to 24 days and is shared
by both parents. It takes the young 30 days to fledge. There
is one brood produced each year.
The diet consists most of aquatic invertebrates
but they also consume reptiles, amphibians, fish and small mammals.
It often feeds in groups.
The snowy egret breeds on the Atlantic,
Pacific and Gulf coasts. It can also be found in some inland
areas. It winters from California south to South America on the
west coast and from Virginia south to the West Indies on the
east coast.
The Great Egret (Casmerodius albus) is
a large (39 inches) white heron with a yellow bill and black
legs and feet. Its breeding plumage shows long plumes trailing
from the back. Was formerly called the Common Egret or American
Egret.
This little plush bird is made by Wild
Republic and is part of their Audubon Bird Collection.
