Long-legged, often long-necked birds that feed in shallow water, marshes, and other wetland ecotone habitats.
Typical waders include herons, egrets, storks, ibises, cranes and flamingos. Some are expert fisherman, others specialize on invertebrates, some strain and filter the mud and sediment for algae, diatoms, and small insects. This Yellow-billed Stork Mycteria ibis is found along the water's edge in east Africa. The image to the right started as a photo taken in Kenya.
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African Waders page
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Waders/
Wading Birds
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Reddish Egrets Egretta rufescens (to left) are often more easily identified by behavior than by plumage. They are active and almost clownish fisherman of the tropical and subtropical America. These egrets will sometimes run and dart about in the shallows as they hunt. Reddish Egrets are closely associated with saltwater tidal habitats. National Audubon Society Page on the Reddish Egret
Yellow-crowned Night-Heron Nyctanassa violacea (to right), while at times visible throughout the day is more often active in the twighlight of dawn dusk and in the evening. This individual was foraging on mudflats during a rising tide, hunting for crayfish, crabs, and fish in the shallows and muck.
Green-backed Heron Butorides virescens stalking th surface of a slough in Everglades National Park Florida, USA. This is a small heron common almost where ever there is water in much of North America.