Snowy Egret (Egretta thula), San Diego-La Jolla Underwater Park, California
The snowy egret is a small white heron. It is the American counterpart to the very similar Old World little egret. At one time, the beautiful plumes of the snowy egret were in great demand by market hunters as decorations for women's hats. This reduced the population of the species to dangerously low levels. Now protected in the United States by law, under the Migratory Bird Treaty Act, this bird's population has rebounded.
Year: 2015
From album: Californian Marine Reserves
Photographer: Peter Prokosch