学名：Egretta garzetta
英文名：Egret
分类：鹳形目
白鹭，是白鹭属鸟类的统称。白鹭属共有13种鸟类，其中，大白鹭、中白鹭、白鹭（小白鹭）、黄嘴白鹭和雪鹭，体羽皆白，通称白鹭。大白鹭体型大，既无羽冠，也无胸饰羽；中白鹭体型中等，无羽冠，但有胸饰羽；白鹭和雪鹭体型小，羽冠及胸羽全有。以小鱼、黄鳝、泥鳅、蛙、虾、水蛭、蟋蟀、水生昆虫和少量谷物等为食。喜集群。白天时，常常几只一起飞往觅食地。傍晚时，结群飞至附近的水田、小块密林中高大树木顶部、庭园树林栖息。厦门市、济南市的市鸟。
Egret belongs to the genus of Egretta which has 13 species, including large egrets,medium egrets,small egrets and snowy egrets.The body is all white and known as egrets.Great egrets are large, with no crown and brooch feather.Medium egrets are of medium size, with no crown feather, but have brooch feather.Small egrets are small in size with crown and brooch feather.They mainly live on small fish, eel, loach, frog, shrimp, leech, crickets, aquatic insects and small amounts of grain.During the day, a few egrets fly together for the feeding grounds.In the evening, they fly to the nearby paddy field together,inhabited in small block of dense forest tall tree or garden.It’s the symbol bird of Xiamen city, jinan city.
白鹭，又称白鹭鸶、白鸟、鹭鸶、丝琴、雪客、一杯鹭等。如果按照体型的大小来区分，在辽河口湿地共生活着大、中、小3种白鹭。其中，以小白鹭为多。
小白鹭（以下称白鹭），体长52～68cm。嘴、脚较长，为黑色。趾为黄绿色。颈长。夏羽枕部着生两条狭长而软的矛状羽，像头后梳着的两条细辫子；肩和背部着生羽枝分散的长形蓑羽，一直向后伸展至尾端；前颈下部也有长的矛状饰羽，向下披至前胸。冬羽全身为乳白色，但蓑羽消失了（个别前颈矛状饰羽还留少许）。
白鹭于繁殖期会发出呱呱的叫声，其余时间皆寂静无声。白鹭的繁殖期为4～7月。在繁殖前一个月，已成对。它们通常会结群营巢于高大的树上，巢距地高15～20m。有时，它们也会就近强占同一棵树上的喜鹊巢，并拆掉、营建自己的巢。巢的结构简单，呈浅盘子状，由枯枝、草茎、草叶构成，或在苇丛中的地上和灌木上营巢。它们每窝产卵3～6枚，雌雄鸟轮流孵化25天。幼雏出生时没有羽毛，不能调节体温。因此，雌雄鸟轮流孵化，为雏鸟保温、遮荫。
白鹭大胆，不怕人。觅食时，常常将脚探入水中搅动，再捕食惊吓中的鱼。平时，它们会一只脚站在水中，另一只脚曲缩于腹下，头缩至背上，呈驼背状，长时间呆立不动。行走时，步履轻盈、稳健。飞行时，头往回缩至肩背处，颈向下，曲成袋状，两腿向后伸直，远远突出尾后。
白鹭冠翎漂亮，具有较高的饰用价值。过去，因为任意猎取，使它几近濒于绝种。现在，保护力度加大，已经明令禁猎了。
白鹭是有愁绪的鸟儿，像个思想者，它们的孤独与生俱来。即使与其他鹭类聚于一处，看起来热热闹闹，也不能改变它们本质上的孤独。郭沫若曾作《白鹭》一文说：“人们说白鹭不会唱歌，白鹭本身不就是一首很优美的歌吗？”是的！它一袭白纱，步态优雅，高贵胜雪，如“绰约仙子”一般孤寂而高雅。
Egrets, also known as white heron, white bird. There are three kinds of egrets in the liaohe estuary, which are large, medium and small.Among them, small egrets are most.
The small egret has a body length of 52 ~ 68cm with long neck.The mouth and feet are long and black.The toes are yellowish green.The summer feathers are long and soft ,and the winter feathers are milky white.
Egrets make a croak during the breeding season, and the rest time is silent.Egrets' breeding period is April to July.One month before the breeding, they are in pairs.They tend to nest in tall trees which is in the height of 15 ~ 20 meters.Sometimes, they also occupy the magpie nests in the same tree,then tear down and build their own nests.The structure of the nest is simple, consisting of dead branches, grass stems, grass leaves,they also choose to nest on the ground and shrubs in the reeds.They lay three to six eggs every time, and male and female birds incubate for 25 days.Chicks are born without feathers and can't regulate body temperature.Therefore, male and female birds take turns hatching, keeping the chicks warm and shading.
Egrets are bold and fearless.When they are looking for food, their feet are often put into the water to stir, and then prey on frightened fish.The crowns of egret are beautiful and have high ornamental value.In the past, because of any hunting, it nearly endangered.Now, conservation efforts have intensified, and the ban has been made.
Egrets are sad birds, like thinkers who are born with loneliness.Even together with other egrets,they can't change the nature of their loneliness.