Publication

Fledging success for Great, Little and Intermediate Egrets at a breeding colony at Shortland (Newcastle, N.S.S.) was found to increase significantly between the wet 1982-1983 and the dry 1983-1984 breeding seasons, whereas for Cattle Egrets there was no significant difference. Evidence of diet changes obtained during the 1984-1985 drought seasons, suggest the hypothesis that the relationship between seasonal food availability and lethal aggression between siblings is the critical factor at work in determining breeding success.