Diet
When the reddish egret hunts for food, it races back and forth in the shallow water, often spreading its wings wide and flapping them. It eats fish,
frogs, and
crustaceans. Sometimes it curves its wings forward around its body and makes a canopy that casts shade on the water. When prey swims towards the shady spot, the reddish egret quickly snatches them up.
Life Cycle
The reddish egret nests in colonies. The female lays 3 or 4 eggs in a platform of sticks placed in mangroves, low bushes, or on the ground. The chicks hatch in 25-26 days and fledge when they are about 45 days old. Both the male and the female build the nest, incubate the eggs, and care for the young.
Behavior
Like other egrets and herons, the reddish egret was once hunted for its feathers in the late 1800s and early 1900s, and its numbers decreased dramatically. It is now protected and its numbers have increased.
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