Egrets mainly feed on a variety of small fish, but also eat shrimp, crabs, tadpoles and aquatic insects and other animal food. The egret's foraging ground and habitat is not the same place, usually strolling in the river, saltpans or paddy fields while walking and pecking, and some even fly to a few kilometers, more than a dozen kilometers away from the farmland, lakes and marshes to forage for food. Egret is the common name for four species of birds in the genus Egret, family Heronidae. There are 13 species of egrets in the genus ***, including four species of great egrets, Chinese egrets, little egrets and yellow-billed egrets, all of which have all-white body plumage and are known as egrets.

The egret mainly feeds on a variety of small fish, but also eats animal food such as shrimp, crabs, tadpoles and aquatic insects. Usually strolling along the riverside, saltpans or paddy fields pecking as it walks, its long beak, neck and legs appear to be very convenient for preying on animals in the water. The egret's plumage is of high value, being mostly white, with long, decorative wedding feathers during the breeding season. Habits are generally similar to those of other herons, but some species have courtship displays that include showing off their plumage. Nesting in large flocks and defenseless, they are endangered as a result of indiscriminate hunting by humans. It is a wading bird that preys on small fish, amphibians, reptiles, mammals, and crustaceans in shallow water. Builds large messy nests in trees or shrubs, or on the ground.

Range

China has 20 species of birds and birds of the heron family, of which those of the genus Egret are the most valuable. In Sanduoqiao Village, Baishiyi Town, Jiulongpo District, Chongqing, there is the country's first egret nature reserve. There are more than 20,000 herons of various kinds in the area. There are 10 types of herons in Xiamen, accounting for 50% of the total number of heron species in China. Among them, five species of the egret genus are complete, reflecting Xiamen's geographic location and wetland environment in the distribution of heron resources are typical and representative.

In recent years, the number of herons in Xiamen has been as high as 30,000 per year, which, according to international standards, indicates that the intertidal zone of Xiamen's waters and the habitats of the lakes that surround the sea are important wetlands for herons in China and internationally. Egrets are also distributed in Zaolin Bay, Yizheng City, Jiangsu Province.