| Hay muchas garzas blancas, y siempre me confundo al intentar diferenciarlas. La clave para identificar a esta es su pico completamente amarillo y patas (incluyendo pies) completamente negras. Las plumas largas solo aparecen durante la temporada reproductiva. La popularidad de estas plumas como adorno de sombreros hacia finales del siglo XIX llevó a esta especie al borde de la extinción. Se calcula que su población había caído a tan solo un 5% de lo que era antes de esta moda, cuando por fin se prohibió su caza a principios del siglo XX. Se ha recuperado desde entonces, por lo que ya no se les considera amenazadas. |
Garceta Grande o Garza Grande
Great Egret
Ardea alba
Great Egret
Ardea alba
| There are many white egrets and herons, and I always get confused trying to tell them apart. The key to identifying this one is its completely yellow beak and completely black legs (including feet). The long feathers only appear during the mating season. The popularity of these feathers as adornments on hats towards the end of the 19th Century almost lead to their extinction. It is calculated that their population had dropped to only 5% of what it was prior to this fashion, when hunting them was finally outlawed early in the 20th Century. They have recovered since then, and are no longer considered threatened. |
| Photos and text by David Nuñez |
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