White Egret, Ardea alba, stands on a fallen limb adorned with tillandsia airplants in Big Cypress Preserve, Florida.
A beautiful White Egret, Ardea alba, aka Great Egret stands on a fallen limb in the Big Cypress Preserve area of South Florida. The bird is adorned with the ornamental back plumes of the mating season called aigrettes. The fallen limb has aigrettes of its own in the form of tillandsia airplants still attached. Aigrette(s) is a French word for tufted plumes as you would find on a helmet and the word is pronounced 'egret or egrets. ' All egrets are herons but the reverse is not true as aigrettes are the defining feature of why herons with ornamental back plumes are called egrets. Tillandsia airplants are one of my favourite sights in the cypress swamp and I love their delicate mossy green/gray color .
Size: 4800px × 7747px
Location: Big Cypress Preserve, Florida
Photo credit: © Judy Lovell-Janthina Images / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No
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