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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Jim M." data-source="post: 1242040" data-attributes="member: 60675">That occurred to me, but I am not aware of any evidence that those two traits are linked.  They seem to have been suggested solely because they are what is needed to explain the appearance of the bird.  Many egrets/herons have a white morph or are white as juveniles, but I have never seen it suggested that dwarfism is associated with this. Moreover, I would think that a bird with that amount of genetic deviation would also be messed up in other ways, but this bird looks to be pretty well put together.In support of my exotic escape theory, I linked to a photo of a Pacific Reef Egret above, that showed yellow legs and feet quite close to the subject bird.  Perhaps other exotic species show similar traits.  (Also, Cattle Egrets can show yellowish legs in breeding plumage: <a href="http://sdakotabirds.com/species/photos/cattle_egret.jpg--" target="_blank">http://sdakotabirds.com/species/photos/cattle_egret.jpg--</a> though as Mark noted, they also typically show orange feathering in that stage that cannot be seen on the carcass).Best,Jim</blockquote>