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The Little Egret

The Little Egret
Copyright ©2011, Olav Agnar Frogner
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The Little Egret (Egretta garzetta) is a small white heron. It is the Old World counterpart to the very similar New World Snowy Egret. The adult Little Egret is 55–65 cm long with an 88–106 cm wingspan, and weighs 350–550 grams. Its plumage is all white. The subspecies garzetta has long black legs with yellow feet and a slim black bill. In the breeding season, the adult has two long nape plumes and gauzy plumes on the back and breast, and the bare skin between the bill and eyes becomes red or blue. Juveniles are similar to non-breeding adults but have greenish-black legs and duller yellow feet. has yellow feet and a bare patch of grey-green skin between the bill and eyes. The subspecies nigripes differs in having yellow skin between the bill and eye, and blackish feet. Little Egrets are mostly silent but make various croaking and bubbling calls at their breeding colonies and produce a harsh alarm call when disturbed. Its breeding distribution is in wetlands in warm temperate to tropical parts of Europe, Africa, Asia, and Australia. In warmer locations, most birds are permanent residents; northern populations, including many European birds, migrate to Africa and southern Asia. They may also wander north in late summer after the breeding season, which may have assisted its current range expansion. Globally, the Little Egret is not listed as a threatened species. Little Egrets eat fish, insects, amphibians, crustaceans, and reptiles. They stalk their prey in shallow water, often running with raised wings or shuffling its feet to disturb small fish. They may also stand still and wait to ambush prey.

Photographer: Olav Agnar Frogner
Folder: Danube Delta
Uploaded: 17-Oct-2011 13:44 CEST
Model release available:
Camera: Olympus E-3
Exposure time: 1/250 s
Aperture: F5
Focal length: 194 mm
Lens: Olympus ZD 50-200 swd + EC-14
Focusing method: Spot
ISO: 400
White balance: Auto
Flash: no
Image format: SHQ
Processing applied:
Various:
Image resized to: 740x552

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NO SUBJECT

Not a very good shot Olav.
The egret has blown highlights and there's no detail in the bird. Use exposure compensation to avoid this.

Greetings,

Wim

Wim Westerhof at 19:36 CEST on 18-Oct-2011 [Reply]

Thank you for feedback.

I agree that this is not the very best shot, far away actually.
This shot is only one of many in the folder by name: “Danube Delta”.
The photo has it function in illustrate the diversity and richness in the biosphere of the delta.
I will try to do better for the future…

Olav Agnar Frogner at 21:11 CEST on 18-Oct-2011 [Reply]