Close Enough To An Elephant
April 7th, 2014
You might be alarmed to see this little egret so close to a huge (and active) tractor. But not only is he not in any danger, the tractor is the whole reason he's there.
These are Cattle Egrets. They're found in North America too, though I've nowhere seen them so abundant as in Costa Rica. If you've ever watched an African nature documentary and seen a bunch of delicate-looking white birds picking around amidst elephants or wildebeests, nimbly evading their crushing footsteps--or even hitching a ride on their backs--these are they. Cattle Egrets evolved to follow large grazing mammals and scoop up the insects disturbed by their foraging. Originating in the old world, they naturally colonized the Americas in the 20th century, learning to forage alongside domestic cattle.
In this case, the egrets decided that a tractor was close enough in effect to "large grazing mammal"! Nearly every day I could find a flock of them following behind it.
In addition to stirring up food, it also liberated some bits of nesting material for them.
Perched in the resort's backyard. It wasn't unusual to find them there.
April 7th, 2014
You might be alarmed to see this little egret so close to a huge (and active) tractor. But not only is he not in any danger, the tractor is the whole reason he's there.
These are Cattle Egrets. They're found in North America too, though I've nowhere seen them so abundant as in Costa Rica. If you've ever watched an African nature documentary and seen a bunch of delicate-looking white birds picking around amidst elephants or wildebeests, nimbly evading their crushing footsteps--or even hitching a ride on their backs--these are they. Cattle Egrets evolved to follow large grazing mammals and scoop up the insects disturbed by their foraging. Originating in the old world, they naturally colonized the Americas in the 20th century, learning to forage alongside domestic cattle.
In this case, the egrets decided that a tractor was close enough in effect to "large grazing mammal"! Nearly every day I could find a flock of them following behind it.
In addition to stirring up food, it also liberated some bits of nesting material for them.
Perched in the resort's backyard. It wasn't unusual to find them there.
| ← | → |
Mike
April 7th, 2014 at 6:43 am
They are a step up from seagulls, for sure! Some good pix... I like the crest on the first one, and the flight shot.