Snowy Egrets are strikingly beautiful birds, with pure white plumage and graceful and elaborate courtship displays. The feathers of the Snowy Egret were highly sought after for fashion, primarily for women’s hats, throughout the late 1800s and into the early twentieth century. The species’ population declined rapidly until restrictions on hunting were put into place and the feather trade was ended. Snowy Egrets made a comeback and even extended their range. They are adaptable to a range of environmental foraging conditions. Snowy Egrets are a focal species that attracts other waders to foraging aggregations, and the addition of more feeding birds may increase success rates for all foraging birds. The Snowy Egret’s bright yellow feet enhance a foraging maneuvers, like “foot-stirring” that attract or startle prey. Today, the Snowy Egret remains vulnerable to oil spills, habitat loss, plastic pollution, and pesticides.

The Javan Pond-Heron is a wading bird found in Southeast Asia. Described as “stout,” this heron is sometimes mistaken for an egret with similar plumage. It inhabits swamps, marshes, and flooded plains, where it forages for crabs, insects, and fish by remaining motionless for long periods of time before snatching food from the water. This species is not globally threatened and its numbers may actually be increasing.

A smaller egret, the Eastern Cattle Egret is named for its habit of stalking insects and other small prey disturbed by herds of cattle moving through and grazing in grassland habitats. Egrets will fly to a grass fire from far away in order to catch fleeing insects, and they even forage at airports, waiting at the edges of the runways for airplanes to pass and blow insects out of the grass. A worldwide phenomenon, the Eastern Cattle Egret is renowned for having colonized without human assistance three continents in just the last hundred years! This world-traveling species inhabits a wide variety of open drier, grassy habitats such as fields, pastures, and rice paddies, and so has likely benefited from agricultural disturbances. The Eastern Cattle Egret nests colonially often and is sometimes present in mixed colonies with other species of herons, cormorants, storks, and ibises.

Boat-billed Herons have shorter legs and squatter bodies than most herons, but their distinguishing feature is their very large and broad bill and huge, dark eyes. The eyes are an indication of their foraging behavior, which takes place at dusk and early night. Native to the Neotropics, this heron is an inhabitant of coastal mangroves and other kinds of dense forest along low-lying rivers, freshwater creeks, and lakes, the Boat-billed Heron feeds mostly on fish, small rodents, and reptiles. Although not considered threatened, human disturbance at nesting colonies has been known to negatively impact reproductive success.

Harris’s Hawks are a deep chestnut brown with yellow markings that make them stand out. They are a very social species, and have been observed raising young and hunting—an unusual trait for a raptor species! While on the hunt, a group of Harris’s Hawks will descend on their prey and flush it. Harris’s Hawks can be found throughout Mexico and parts of the southern United States.

The Black Kite is a medium-sized, primarily brown raptor. Kites are characterized by their long wings and tails, buoyant and acrobatic flight, and ability to catch food in mid-air. Black Kites are widespread and adaptable and can be found throughout portions of Africa, Europe, and Australasia. They eat small mammals, other birds, carrion, and insects. Their most notable trait is the ability to catch and eat prey while still in flight and they have been observed catching large insects fleeing from wildfires. Unlike most raptors, Black Kites are a fairly social and gregarious species and often gather in large flocks to roost and feed.

Augur Buzzards are one of the most numerous types of hawks in Africa. In the Americas, the term “buzzard” generally refers to vultures, but in the Old World, the word’s original meaning was “hawk.” Augur Buzzards are members of the Buteo genus, a group of hawks found all over the world and known for their broad wings, relatively short tails, and the ability to soar for long periods of time. Like all hawks, Augur Buzzards are strict carnivores and actively hunt a variety of animals, particularly reptiles. Augur Buzzards come in two color phases: dark and light. Dark individuals are uniformly chocolate brown, while light phase birds have a dark hood and back with a bright white chest and stomach. Both color phases have a rusty, brick-red tail, yellow legs, and dark eyes.

The Silver Gull is the most common gull found in Australia. It is most common in coastal areas but can be found throughout the continent. They use a variety of habitats, from sandy and rocky shores to garbage dumps, and breed on small islands. Their diet is as varied as their habitats. The Silver Gull will eat jellyfish, crustaceans, small mammals, and items scavenged from garbage dumps. This species is not globally threatened and is in fact increasing.

The Masked Lapwing is also known as the Spur-winged Plover because of a unique feature: each of its wings has a yellow spur at the “elbow” (carpal joint) used to keep predators away from nests and chicks. Masked Lapwings are common throughout Australia, Indonesia, New Guinea, and New Zealand, where they inhabit marshes, mudflats, beaches, and grasslands. Within a few hours of hatching, Masked Lapwing chicks are able to leave the nest, swim, and feed themselves. Chicks may stay with their parents for 1-2 years, however, and may even assist with future nesting attempts. The nests of Masked Lapwings fail frequently due to destruction by cattle, human disturbance, mowing, predation, and flooding.

Tawny Frogmouths are comical looking birds with large eyes and wide mouths. They are found throughout Australia in a wide variety of habitats, from Eucalyptus forests to city parks. They inhabit areas with extreme temperature variation, with very cold nights and very hot days. To stay cool, Tawny Frogmouths engorge the blood vessels in the mouth, which helps to cool air as it is inhaled. In the winter, pairs roost together to share body warmth, and they will often sunbathe in the daylight, opening their beaks wide and moving their heads from side to side for sunlight to penetrate their thick feathers. In the winter, they spend much of their days and nights in torpor.

American Flamingos have brilliant feathers that range from pale pink to a deep scarlet red, and get their coloring from the microscopic shrimp and algae in their diet. The depth of their pigmentation indicates how well a flamingo was eating as its feathers grew. Their long neck and legs allow them to wade and forage in water several feet deep. They use their curved bill to strain plankton and other small invertebrates from the water.

Lanner Falcons are strong, stocky birds with long wings and a relatively short tail, very similar to the North American Peregrine Falcon. Males and females of this species tend to look the same, but females are slightly larger. Lanner Falcons have been used in the sport of falconry for centuries, and are prized for their ability to capture other birds such as pigeons. Lanner Falcons are fast, agile flyers that use both a vertical stoop and a horizontal hunting style to pursue their prey. They can fly low over the ground at speeds of up to 90 miles per hour.