Little Egret Species of Bird:

The little egret is a species of wading bird that is one of the few birds that owes its massive success and survival as a species to its migratory pattern. In evolutionary terms, this bird is extremely old and is quite widespread across all continents. Its success lies in the fact that there are no boundaries that this bird will not cross in its quest to find a good nesting site. Like most migratory birds, the little egret is also a colony dweller. The bird has been famous in history because of its plumage that was a major craze amongst people in the earlier centuries. It was so rampant as a fashion icon that the bird was even farmed for its plumage though most supplies of feathers did come from poached wild populations that seriously threatened its existence.

The little egret is an innocuous swamp dweller with a size of about 55 centimeters and a 105 centimeter wingspan. The bird and all of its subspecies are mostly white in color with a red and blue marking near the eyes. Just like another wading bird, the ibis, this species also undergoes some color transformations during its mating seasons. A breeding pair is extremely territorial and marks out an area that is four meters in diameter when the breeding pair has a nest. The chicks are looked after by both parents and are covered in a fluffy down. The diet of the bird consists of swamp reptiles like frogs, as well as insects, crustaceans, and small entities.

One of the most remarkable aspects of the bird remains its spread. Most species of little egrets do not migrate if they are indigenous to the tropics. However, this changes in egrets that hail from Europe. These birds will regularly fly to the warmer regions of the South during winter travelling as far as Africa only to return after winter is over. This travel has caused the spread of the habitat of the bird to extend to Ireland and Netherlands. The bird also spread to the American subcontinent as has become a regular feature of the winter migration of birds there as well. They usually are found in the company of other wading birds and avian swamp dwellers. The little egret is one of the few birds to have enjoyed a status of conservation way back in 1889. This was in response the widespread hunting of the bird for the fashion industry.