BirdForum is the net's largest birding community dedicated to wild birds and birding, and is absolutely FREE!

Register for an account to take part in lively discussions in the forum, post your pictures in the gallery and more.

Reply to thread

Message: <blockquote data-quote="CAU" data-source="post: 1242452" data-attributes="member: 55324">The wing length is stated to be "max 307 mm". That means maximum length from the carpal joint to the tip of the longest primary when the wing is stretched. I can't see this to fit a total wingspan of 82-95 cm, 120 cm is closer to reality (BTW, my Finnish version of Mullarney et al. says 80-90 cm, apparently there's some variation between different editions...). The bill is measured to the tip of the feathering (I suppose to the tip of the feathering at the upper mandible). Therefore the given measure is even shorter than the bill tip to skull measure. The total length of Cattle Egret (bill tip to tail tip) is stated to be 45-52 cm (in my copy of Collins), and the species is relatively short billed for a heron, so I don't think that it's plausible that one could have a bill as long as 9 cm (bill tip to the tip of the feathering).This is a good point, which also means that the feathers that lack the sheath are not growing anymore. However, as many Finnish Grey Herons are fledged already before the end of June, the bird could maybe still be a juvenile.</blockquote>