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Sarasota News Leader January 25, 2013 Page 86 a few feet away in that crowded nesting col- bridal chamber and "do it"! Ardea Alba is at last a Great Egret. ony. Eventually, in what must have seemed like an eternity to Alba, Ardea stops preening and flies to Alba's ait, where they engage in a dreamy courtship, a graceful, ethereal feathery sarabande, a dance banned in Spain in the 16th century for its explicit sensuality. One day, Alba gently grabs Ardea's bill with his and strokes his neck against hers, all the while cooing and gurgling discordant, inharmonious croaks, squawks and gracks into her ear. She reciprocates and they move to their The bridal chamber is their nest. Alba flies in the materials while Ardea arranges their placement. Cole Porter wrote that "Roosters do it with a doodle and a cock." In the case of Egrets, and virtually all other species of birds, the male lacks a penis. Birds have only a cloaca. Anatomically speaking, a cloaca is the posterior opening that serves as the one and only opening for the intestinal, urinary and reproductive tracts of birds. So, Alba must mount Ardea in the missionary position so they can tightly con- Alba is doing his best to win a show of ardor from Ardea. Photo courtesy Rick Greenspun