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ID help - Louisiana (1 Viewer)

P

pattianne

Well-known member
The bill seems a bit thick for a snowy egret... any thoughts?
of course, the feet are hidden - so much for that clue. Thanks

pattianne
 

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Hi Pattianne,

What about immature white morph Redish Egret. Dark bill, grey facil skin and grey legs match this species.

I am not an expert on birds of North America, so lets wait for the experts.

Alejandro
 
Hi Alejandro,
Thanks for your input. I haven't seen a white morph reddish egret before, but I do know this bird looked a bit odd in the field. I have searched my books, and still not sure about the ID. If the bill is right, the color of the legs are wrong, and so on. I did check out the reddish egret, but I just don't have the expertise to make a positive ID. Again, thanks for your quick reply. I will go back and check the reddish egret again.

pattianne
 
hi pattianne,

Personally, I think that is a Snowy Egret. Reddish Egrets have dark lores - this bird shows obvious yellow lores. The bill seems to short, and the neck also seems rather short. I don't have much experience with white-morph Reddish Egrets (I've just seen dark-morph), but I'm quite confident that isn't a Reddish.

Neil G.
 
Hi Neil,
Thank you for your interest. You've made some good points. I will study the photo more tomorrow - and I'll check to see if I took any other shots of this bird, too.
Thanks again.

pattianne
 
To me the more rounded bill tip and the thick neck suggest a juvenile Cattle egret...They have blackish bills too; and on struckture this fits perfect whereas the other options don´t.
 
I agree with Juv. Cattle Egret. Let us simply look at bill length and thickness in ratio to head size. There is a wealth of other field marks too. But this should suffice to rule out the other egrets mentioned.
 
I know it's not a Reddish Egret. I'm a little conflicted over Snowy or Cattle Egrets however. I am leaning toward Cattle Egret based on shape and the proportions and coloration of soft parts seem to match Cattle Egret more to my eyes.
 
Another vote for juvenile Cattle Egret here. Never knew that young birds have blackish bills until this year, when one was seen in the UK, but this looks very like that and other young Cattle Egrets that I've seen pics of since. Structure etc all wrong for Snowy.
 
Hmm, I think I blew it here - does look like a juvenile Cattle Egret. The bill is short and thick. I guess the long-looking stretched out neck threw me off!

Neil G.
 
Hey, don't be embarrassed... I'm not! The lowly cattle egret - I didn't realize immatures had black bills.. and I see them every day in a pasture across the road from my house. Learn something every day. Thanks to all of you.

pattianne
 
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