Florida Ardea Hybrid -- Genetic Testing? (1 Viewer)

[cerw8385]

Hello everyone,

I've been following the Tampa Bay Ardea hybrid for a while. It has a page on Bird Hybrids devoted to it: Great Blue Heron x Great Egret.

Many suspect that it is GHBE x GREG, but others believe it could be GREG x REEG.

A recent Reddit post claims that genetic tests have confirmed the ancestry of this bird:

https://www.reddit.com/r/birding/comments/15nu29y

. This is very exciting and I've wanted to get confirmation from the researchers involved with this project. However, I've waited a while and still have not received a response from the author of the Reddit post.

Does anyone know the people who may have performed this genetic testing? Might there be any way for me to see these results?

Thanks for any help or input you can provide!

 

[Bewick]

You could try and start a chat with the guy- click on his profile and there will be a chat prompt on his page.

 

[cerw8385]

You could try and start a chat with the guy- click on his profile and there will be a chat prompt on his page.

I did start a chat with them. They have not responded after 2 weeks. Hopefully, they'll get to it eventually.

 

[lockbreeze926]

This used to hang around the pier at Fort de Soto for long periods of time. A very handsome individual, and very approachable.

The (brief) note suggests it is without precedent - is that correct?

 

[cerw8385]

Yes, as far as I know, the bird from Fort De Soto is the same individual that I'm referring to.

Interestingly, eBird does have reports of Great Blue Heron x Great Egret from two other locations. I don't know if either is trustworthy:

• Indian River, Florida (2023): https://ebird.org/checklist/S143752206
• Washington, Pennsylvania (2004-2005): https://ebird.org/checklist/S52599423

I can't believe that no one managed to get pictures of the Pennsylvania bird even though it was "seen for years by many!"

 

[stevethehydra]

I'd imagine there would be a significant size difference between a Great Egret x Great Blue Heron hybrid and a Great Egret x Reddish Egret hybrid! Are there any photos of this bird alongside other herons/egrets of known species?

 

[cerw8385]

Here are several size comparisons for this individual. I have heard that it is slightly smaller than Great Egret, which seems accurate. Since it is smaller than Great Egret, this may point to Reddish Egret ancestry. Are hybrids always intermediate in size between their parent species?

With Snowy Egrets:
ML278352121 - Great Egret x Great Blue Heron (hybrid) - Macaulay Library

With Great Blue Heron:
ML32495671 - Great Egret x Great Blue Heron (hybrid) - Macaulay Library

With Great Egret:
ML33129241 - Great Egret x Great Blue Heron (hybrid) - Macaulay Library

With Roseate Spoonbill:
ML240622731 - Great Egret x Great Blue Heron (hybrid) - Macaulay Library