21. Squacco Heron

Most herons and egrets are largish birds. With long legs, long neck and sword-like beak, they easily stand out in a crowd (of birds). Most European herons also migrate, which means we get to see quite a few of them here on their spring and autumn journeys across the Mediterranean. One of these is the Squacco Heron (M: Agrett Isfar). Squaccos are easy to identify in flight, with brownish yellow body, brilliant white wings and rather slow flight typical of herons. They like to travel in groups, and a flock of ten or twenty Squaccos flashing their plumage in the sunlight as they sail overhead can be quite a spectacle. Like other herons, Squaccos haunt watery places in search of their aquatic prey (fish, frogs etc), so places like Ghadira, Is-Simar and Salina are good places to watch out for these elegant birds.

Text by Victor Falzon, photo Juan Ellul Pirotta. Copyright to Birdlife Malta.