[wbrower]

Saw this bird once only in Seminole Park, Seminole Florida, USA
I'm thinking it might be a Reddish Egret (White phase) but I certainly could be wrong.
Any help would be appreciated.

[JANJ]

Hi wbrower,
It´s not a Reddish Egret. You only have to take a look at the "gape line" under the eye, it reaches behind the eye, which it doesn´t on Reddish. It does so though on Great Blue Heron (thinking white morph) and Great Egret. Since the bill looks thin compared to Great Blue and the legs are black, you have a Great Egret.
JanJ

[wbrower]

Originally Posted by JANJ

Hi wbrower,
It´s not a Reddish Egret. You only have to take a look at the "gape line" under the eye, it reaches behind the eye, which it doesn´t on Reddish. It does so though on Great Blue Heron (thinking white morph) and Great Egret. Since the bill looks thin compared to Great Blue and the legs are black, you have a Great Egret.
JanJ

Thanks for the quick reply. There are literally dozens of Great Egrets in this area but I'd never seen one with the "thickness" of the neck area that this picture shows. I should have mentioned that it seemed a little shorter than Great Egrets I've seen.

[JANJ]

Males tend to be larger than females, dont know if it involve neck length. It looks as if your bird is "raising feathers", the head and neck looks woollen. When is image taken?
JanJ

[cuckooroller]

WB,
Just a confirm. Jan is right. You don't even have to look at the rest of the bird - just the gape line - can't be any other type of Egret.

[wbrower]

Originally Posted by JANJ

Males tend to be larger than females, dont know if it involve neck length. It looks as if your bird is "raising feathers", the head and neck looks woollen. When is image taken?
JanJ

The picture was taken 07-May-2005 at about 8:30 AM. I've searched my photos of Great Egrets and have found one other with neck feathers like this one, so it seems you are probably right about this one being a Great Egret. The dark upper bill seems a little different though. In all I took 5 pictures of this bird. Here's a link to another one.
http://wbrower.net/OBB/ParkLog/2005-...h-Egret-05.jpg
I'll have to change the names of the pictures obviously. Thanks for your reply.

[wbrower]

Originally Posted by cuckooroller

WB,
Just a confirm. Jan is right. You don't even have to look at the rest of the bird - just the gape line - can't be any other type of Egret.

Thanks. I'd never even heard of a "gape line" but now after looking into it, there isn't much doubt.

I appreciate the help.

[JANJ]

wbrower, have a look at the bill shape of Great Egret and Great Blue Heron, white morph. The first is Great Egret.
JanJ

http://www.hoganphoto.com/Great_Egret_Head__a.jpg
http://rosswarner.com/1115.jpg

[wbrower]

Originally Posted by JANJ

wbrower, have a look at the bill shape of Great Egret and Great Blue Heron, white morph. The first is Great Egret.
JanJ

http://www.hoganphoto.com/Great_Egret_Head__a.jpg
http://rosswarner.com/1115.jpg

Impressive. I've seen occasional Great White Herons here (I think). I never noticed the intense blue color around the eyes though. I identified them by the leg color (yellow as opposed to black for the Great Egret). Unfortunately I haven't been able to get a picture of a Great White Heron.

I'm now convinced that the pictue I thought might be a Reddish Egret is that of a Great Egret with its neck feathers fluffed up.

The help I got here is awesome and fast. I bet I'll be back with more questions.

Here are some pictures I've taken of Great Blue Herons and Great Egrets:
Great Blue Herons
Great Egrets