Today we have a video by Tara Tanaka called “Great Egret and Anhinga: an Afternoon in my Blind.” I had no idea egrets displayed in this way: it’s very graceful. (Her flickr site is here and Vimeo channel is here.) The Great Egret is Ardea alba and the Anhinga is, naturally, Anhinga anhinga.
The details:
It’s only March 2nd but spring is in full swing on our swamp. This Great Egret was displaying while a female watched from above. I’ve seen this male Anhinga and a female in breeding plumage but I’m not sure if they’re a pair, or just thinking about it. Every day more and more Egrets are arriving, and a few are already incubating eggs.
This video was digiscoped using a GH4 + 20/1.7 mounted on a Swarovski STX85 using a Digidapter. The video was shot in 4K and I zoomed in to about 140% in post processing.
Spectacular. I had not noticed the green facial markings on the egret before, and looking around it appears that that is a male egret thing. The anhinga also has a similar green facial marking.
The anhinga anhinga is weird weird.
Thanks Mark – it’s their breeding color – both the males and females get the color and the plumes. Males display and females (slightly smaller) watch from high in the trees. All females aren’t accepted – some land next to the male and he just keeps displaying and she flies off.
Very, very, nice.
Thank you!
Beautiful.
Thanks Rick!
Egret sexual display. I believe what we see here are comfort movements which have been co-opted into sexual display. Comfort movements are behavior patterns such as preening or feeding. They are then incorporated and often exaggerated into sexual display. Going way back to Tinbergen and Lorenz here.
Thank you Lee for that information.
And thank you for the lovely video.
Sub
So beautiful, peaceful and graceful!
Bravo et merci!
I second that! Another stunner, Tara. Thank you.
Thank you Anne-Marie and SP!!