Multiple Burmese-language blog posts shared thousands of times on Facebook in Myanmar claim that egrets, a type of heron, are all females which "get pregnant" by "enjoying the sound of thunder". This is false. Ornithologists told AFP that there are both male and female birds within the species, and they copulate in order to fertilise eggs.

One misleading blog post was shared on Facebook on February 18, 2022. The post has been shared more than 1,700 times.

The post's Burmese-language caption translates to English as: "Egrets do not have males -- they are all females. Then how do they lay eggs?"

The post continues: "The answer to that is that female egrets enjoy the sound of thunder and then get pregnant."

Egrets, a type of heron, are long-legged wading birds.

They inhabit "a wide variety of wetlands" such as lakes, rivers, marshes and estuaries, according to online bird database eBird at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology.

The post also includes a Burmese tale about a princess who apparently got pregnant after she saw a handsome soldier who served her father, the King.

The claim was also shared over 600 times in other Burmese-language blog posts here, here and here.

However, the claim is false.

'Egrets mate'

Ornithologists told AFP that there are both females and males within the egret species that must copulate in order to produce their young.

Sharon Stiteler, a park ranger and bird expert, told AFP: "That claim is not true. Herons and egrets definitely have males and females...

Read Full Story: https://factcheck.afp.com/doc.afp.com.32GZ39P