Flock Of Egrets And Herons In Flight #4 is a photograph by Roy Williams which was uploaded on May 5th, 2015.
Flock Of Egrets And Herons In Flight #4
As the sun begins to set, the Cattle Egrets, Snowy Egrets and Little Blue Herons fly in from the east and begin a significant increase in the... more
by Roy Williams
Title
Flock Of Egrets And Herons In Flight #4
Artist
Roy Williams
Medium
Photograph - Digital Art
Description
As the sun begins to set, the Cattle Egrets, Snowy Egrets and Little Blue Herons fly in from the east and begin a significant increase in the numbers that occupy the already overly crowded island. Eventually, a very large number will perch in the surrounding trees and others stand near the east side of the lake. When cars move slowly to pass them, they instantly leave to another area at Murphy Park in Taylor, TX.
"A flock is a group of birds conducting flocking behavior in flight, or while foraging. The term is akin to the herd amongst mammals. The benefits of aggregating in flocks are varied and flocks will form explicitly for specific purposes. Flocking also has costs, particularly to socially subordinate birds, which are bullied by more dominant birds; birds may also sacrifice feeding efficiency in a flock in order to gain other benefits. The principal benefits are safety in numbers and increased foraging efficiency. Defense against predators is particularly important in closed habitats such as forests where predation is often by ambush and early warning provided by multiple eyes is important, this has led to the development of many mixed-species feeding flocks. These multi-species flocks are usually composed of small numbers of many species, increasing the benefits of numbers but also increasing potential competition for resources."
"Group size is a major aspect of the social environment of gregarious animals. However, one has to be careful when using group size measures to characterize animal sociality, because average individuals live in groups larger than mean group size." --Wikipedia
Uploaded
May 5th, 2015