Little Blue Heron (Egretta caerulea) Science Article 5
abstract
The foraging strategies of wading birds may be influenced by their degree of crypsis to aquatic prey. Whiteplumage has been hypothesized to be adaptive for herons hunting in open water habitats. We tested thishypothesis with laboratory and field experiments with multiple prey species.We investigated the responseof crayfish, Procambarus spp., and mosquitofish, Gambusia affinis, to white- and dark-plumaged birds in anexperimental chamber.
M. CLAY GREEN and PAUL L. LEBERG, ANIMAL BEHAVIOUR, 2005, 70, 1203-1208