Australia. Guide to Australia

Great White Egret ( Ardea alba) - A large wading bird of the family tsaplevyh, living on the banks of rivers, lakes and wetlands across Australia.

Great Egret fairly large bird, the height of the 94 до 104 Centimeters,weight of adult birds from 900 до 1100 Gram, a wingspan before30-145 cm.

Great white heron plumage all white, yellow beak, long and straight, feet long, dark gray and a short wedge-shaped tail. Heron long neck, S-shaped, so the bird can quickly pull or draw a neck. Tuft on his head a great white heron, which occurs in other species of herons, no.

Smooth flight heron, at about 28-51 kilometers per hour, overland great white egret moves slowly, stretching his neck in search of food. Heron hunts either alone or in groups,during the day and at dusk, , and after dark get in groups with other herons and seeks refuge.

The diet of the Great White Heron is wide and in the choice of eating poultry a little picky, the basic food ration constitute frog, Snake, fish, crayfish, small rodents, Crickets, grasshoppers and other insects of all kinds.

During the period of breeding herons have their plot and guard it carefully, but after the breeding season pairs often break up. Search for food, during the breeding season, herons prefer   near, but when   need to make the flights on the distance 6-20 km.

The period of puberty among great white herons occurs in 2 year. These herons are seasonal monogamous birds, that is, create a couple of only one breeding season, but there are rare cases of re-reunion of the same pair.   during the year, only one offspring, for the reproduction of selected spring or summer, When there are a large variety of food.

Great egrets nest in large colonies, often with other species of herons, such as great blue herons and snowy herons, the male arrives at the colony first and chooses the location for future nest.   Herons often change places nests and colonies, so males arrived approved at the new location and begin to attract females, performing ritual dances.

Interested females sit on neighbouring branches and watch, but they can run, and the meeting dance or pokruzhitsja around the future nest. The female can also chase away nearby other females. The couple is selected carefully, and one of the birds can sometimes chase away the other. The nest is built immediately after, how a couple is created.

The nest of the great white heron resembles a large pile of sticks and twigs., collected in one place. It can persist for several years, Although the colony can move to another area or choose other trees. Material is gathered in all possible ways, including theft from neighbouring nests. Usually collecting building material deals with male, While the female puts it in the nest.

The female lays 3-6 eggs, measuring approximately   57 mm, at intervals 2-3 of the day every day,  eggs incubate  like a female, so is the male. The incubation period is 23-26 дней, after which, in the same order, almost naked and helpless chicks appear.. Among chicks begins a brutal competition for access to the parent food, Moreover, the chicks that appeared first, due to their size, have an advantage over their younger peers - they can peck at them and try to monopolize their right to days to feed.. If the year is very good in terms of eating, all offspring can feather, most often, however, survives two or even one chick — the rest perish. Full plumage of chicks occurs in 42-49 дней. Good about the young birds fly through 7 weeks, However, even before the 10-11 weeks they depend on parents.Days

Life expectancy of Great White egrets, in the wild, on average, about 15 лет, а в неволе около 22 лет. In adult herons are observed natural enemies, but eggs and chicks often hunt crows, new world Vulture   and raccoons. Mortality in birds is high, While they are in the nest, and in the first few months after feathering.