little egret
A white heron species (Egretta garzetta) commonly seen near water in Japan. Usually written in kana.
田んぼでこさぎが餌を探している。
A little egret is searching for food in the rice field.
Compound of 小 (ko, 'small') and 鷺 (sagi, 'heron'). The exact historical derivation is uncertain, but the name describes the bird's relatively small size compared to other herons.