Foraging Behaviors of Snowy Egrets (Egretta thula) and Yellow-crowned Night-Herons (Nyctanassa violacea) in South Louisiana

Authors

D. Tommy King, USDA/APHIS/WS National Wildlife Research CenterFollow
Dwight LeBlanc, USDA/APHIS, Animal Damage Control

Date of this Version

March 1995

Comments

Published in Colonial Waterbirds 18(2): 224-225, 1995.

Abstract

We report two previously undescribed foraging techniques used by Snowy Egrets (Egretta thula) and Yellow-crowned Night-Herons (Nyctanassa violacea) to catch crawfish (Procambarus spp.). Snowy Egrets were selecting crawfish that had recently molted their shells and Yellow-crowned Sight-Herons were targeting crawfish that were emerging from their burrows. These observations were conducted on commercial crawfish ponds near Catahoula, LA, USA.