Page 392 - (DK) Ocean - The Definitive Visual Guide

390 ANIMAL LIFE

ORDER CICONIIFORMES ORDER CICONIIFORMES
Gray Heron Little Egret

Ardea cinerea Egretta garzetta
LENGTH 34–39 in LENGTH 22–27 in
(90–100 cm) (56–65 cm)
1
1
WEIGHT 3 / 2 –4 / 2 lb WEIGHT 11–16 oz
(1.6–2 kg) (300–450 g)
HABITAT Estuaries, HABITAT Muddy coasts,
lagoons, coasts mangrove swamps
DISTRIBUTION Europe, mainland Asia (except far DISTRIBUTION Southern Europe, Africa, southern
north), Japan, Indonesia, Africa, Madagascar Asia, Southeast Asia, Australasia
Commonly seen in fresh water, the Pure white with black legs, a black
gray heron also frequently visits shores, bill, and bright yellow facial skin, the
especially in areas where lakes and little egret is usually seen on its own
ponds freeze in winter. Tall, gray- or in scattered groups, wading quietly
backed, and often immobile, it waits through shallow water on coasts. This
patiently for fish or other animals to bird feeds on fish and other shoreline
come within range, then seizes them animals that are disturbed by its
with a rapid jab of its daggerlike bill. approach. During the breeding season,
On coasts, its feeding method restricts both males and females grow long,
it to shallow water on rocky and lacy feathers on their heads and backs. ORDER CICONIIFORMES white, with a pale yellow bill and
low-lying shores, where it often follows They nest in trees, building flimsy yellow-gray legs. The other form has
the falling tide. Gray herons fly with nests out of sticks. Pacific Reef Egret a similarly colored bill and legs, but its
slow wingbeats, their heads hunched plumage is dark gray. The balance
into their shoulders and their legs Egretta sacra between the two forms varies. In
trailing behind. They nest in trees, LENGTH 24–27 in some islands in the tropical Pacific the
typically inland near water. (60–70 cm) white form predominates, but in New
WEIGHT 14–26 oz Zealand, the overwhelming majority
(400–750 g) are gray. Pacific Reef Egrets forage
HABITAT Coastal and alone or in small groups, feeding on
freshwater wetlands small fish, crabs, and mollusks. When
DISTRIBUTION Australasia, Pacific islands, western hunting, they hold their heads and
Pacific coast from Southeast Asia to Japan bodies almost horizontally and often
shade the water with their half-spread
This compact shoreline egret has two wings. Unlike most egrets, they
contrasting color forms, so different frequently nest on the ground, among
that they look like separate species. fallen rocks or in coastal caves, as well
One form (or morph) is completely as in low-growing trees.

With their extraordinarily long wings
ORDER PELECANIFORMES
and slender bodies, frigatebirds are
Great Frigatebird unrivaled experts at gliding flight.
The five species all have glossy black
plumage, strong, hooked bills, and
Fregata minor
LENGTH 34–39 in small, webbed feet. The males also
(86–100 cm) have a bright red throat pouch, which
WEIGHT 3–4 lb they inflate during courtship displays.
(1.4–1.8 kg) Despite weighing less than a large gull,
HABITAT Coasts, islands the great frigatebird has a wingspan of
1
(breeding); open ocean up to 7/2 ft (2.3 m), allowing it to
DISTRIBUTION Tropical regions in Indian Ocean and glide for hours while making only
Pacific, sporadic in tropical Atlantic the merest flick of its wings. As it flies,
it observes other sea birds as they
feed, then pursues them to steal their
catch. Frigatebirds also hunt their
own food, snapping it up from the
sea’s surface. They nest in coastal
bushes, where they make flimsy
nests out of twigs.

ORDER PELECANIFORMES The largest of the three species of
tropicbird, this elegant sea bird spends
Red-billed most of its life flying over the open
ocean, often hundreds of miles from
Tropicbird land. From a distance the red-billed
tropicbird resembles a dove, but for
OCEAN LIFE DISTRIBUTION Eastern Pacific, Caribbean, tropical by plunge-diving, hovering to locate
two highly distinctive tail streamers
Phaethon aethereus
1
that flutter behind it as it flies. It feeds
LENGTH Up to 19 / 2 in
(50 cm) excluding tail
1
3
WEIGHT 1 / 4 –1 / 4 lb
its prey before diving with half-folded
(600–800 g)
wings into the sea. Despite being very
HABITAT Coasts, islands
buoyant, it seldom swims. Like other
(breeding); open ocean
tropicbirds, it nests on remote coasts
and oceanic islands and is rarely seen
Atlantic, northeast Indian Ocean
outside tropical waters.