Feeding Habitat Use by Colonially-Breeding Herons, Egrets, and Ibises in North Carolina

Nine species of herons, egrets, and ibises were followed by airplane from a nesting colony near Beaufort, North Carolina to their feeding sites. Except for Cattle Egrets, which flew exclusively to fields and dumps, the birds flew mainly to saltmarsh habitat. The selection of feeding habitats by Grea...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:The Auk 1978-10, Vol.95 (4), p.733-743
Main Authors: Custer, Thomas W., Osborn, Ronald G.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Bird nesting
Birds
Food
Fresh water
Landing sites
Mud flats
Storks
Tidal interaction
Vehicular flight
Wildlife habitats
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Summary:Nine species of herons, egrets, and ibises were followed by airplane from a nesting colony near Beaufort, North Carolina to their feeding sites. Except for Cattle Egrets, which flew exclusively to fields and dumps, the birds flew mainly to saltmarsh habitat. The selection of feeding habitats by Great Egrets and Louisiana Herons was directly related to tidal depth. The Great Egret was the only species that effectively used eelgrass beds, and its use of this habitat was restricted to between 1.5 h before and after low tide. We suspect that shorter-legged herons did not use eelgrass regularly because the water was too deep. Most Great Egrets, White Ibises, Louisiana Herons, and Snowy Egrets used areas near the colony (
ISSN:0004-8038
1938-4254