Egretta thula
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Aves
Order: Pelecaniformes
Family: Ardeidae
ILLINOIS STATUS
Endangered, native
ILLINOIS RANGE
The endangered status is due to the massive number
of snowy egrets that were killed in the late 1800s for
their feathers (plume hunting.) The snowy egret was
never very common in Illinois before this period of
plume hunting and has not recovered well since.
FEATURES
An adult snowy egret is 20 to 27 inches long. It is a
white-feathered, small, thin egret. It has a yellow
patch between its eye and black bill, but during the
breeding season the patch is red. The legs are black,
and the feet are yellow.
The call of the snowy egret is
"wulla-wulla-wulla."
Nature Artists' Guild 