By: Paul S. Cilwa | Viewed: 3/28/2024 Occurred: 9/10/2020 |
Page Views: 677 | |
Topics: #Coronavirus #Maui | |||
Cows everywhere are accompanied by their friends, the tick-pickers. |
The first time I noticed egrets accompanying cows, I was in my late teens and was driving in Florida with my friend, Marianne Pye, when we passed a herd of cows, upon which were riding these white birds that occasionally leaned over and ate something fromthe cow's back.
"What in the world are they doing?" I asked. since we were in her part of Florida.
"Picking ticks off the cows' backs, I imagine," she responded.
"What are they called?" I asked.
"I never heard them called anything but tickpickers," she replied.
But, since then, I've learned they are called egrets. While picking ticks isn't all they do, it does seem to be a common means of employment among them--especially when there are cows handy, as there were across the road from Koki Beach today.