ABSTRACT
Many kinds of birds walk in water, or wade. This chapter is about the long-legged wading birds, which are here defined as the herons, egrets, ibises, storks, and spoonbills, all of which are in the order Ciconiiformes. Although shorebirds are referred to as “waders” in Europe and other parts of the globe, ciconiiform birds are quite distinct from shorebirds. Cranes (family Gruidae) and flamingos (family Phoenicopteridae) are also long-legged birds that wade, but not in the marine environment and they are not covered in this chapter. Long-legged wading birds are long in most dimensions, having long legs, toes, bills, and necks. With few exceptions, wading birds are strongly associated with shallowly flooded wetlands, in which they generally breed and feed.
