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Which of these is the Little Blue Heron? (1 Viewer)

rka

ttbirds
Hi,

Just came from the Caroni Swamp and captured these pictures of two bluish/purplish herons. Will post the first one here and the next in the following post. As you will see, the birds have the same colour but look different (one is more slender; the head/beak areas also look different).

Can anyone confirm the identity of these birds?

Thanks,

rka
 

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Hi RKA,
While having no experience of any of the North American herons other than those found in Europe also(Cattle Egret,Black-crowned Night Heron,Great White Egret),it would appear that these are both Little Blue Herons(double-checked on the net,but was already pretty sure that no other N.Am heron is such a uniform blue-grey colour)
Harry
 
I got the same results as Harry, despite checking South American herons in HBW as well.

Could it be that bird #2 has a small fish or similar in its bill, making it appear stouter-billed?

Michael
 
I agree, it appears that bird 2's bill is slightly parted, and may have something in it. Also, bird 1's neck is extended more, making it appear more long and slender. These are both little blue herons.
 
Hello rka,

In agreement with all the above. In the next few months they will have young. These will be entirely white.

dennis
 
Thanks for all the feedback.

Dennis, from what you said, I think another heron I had trouble identifying may be an immature Little Blue Heron. While the heron was white, blue-gray plumage was seen in certain areas. Also, the beak looked the same as the Little Blue. Here is a picture:
 

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Good call rka! That is exactly what you've got. Immature Little Blue Heron. Bill color is slightly lighter than adult, leg color-light green and the blue color is starting to fill in on the body.

The only bird(white) of this size that may confuse you, is the Snowy Egret. The base of its bill is yellowish but the immatures do have greenish legs. Their legs turn black as they mature. They have shocking yellow feet to go with those black legs, giving them the look of wearing yellow shoes.

Hope this helps.
dennis
 
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