Great White Heron or Egret? (1 Viewer)

[mhmyers]

This is from the Florida Everglades in the spring. I'm not sure how to tell the difference.

Thanks,
mhm

 

[birdboybowley]

It's the egret. Egrets always look slimmer and more elegant than a heron, and this one has the long back feathers (the aigrettes) that a heron would never show

 

[Jim M.]

Black legs make it a Great Egret.

Great White (Blue) Heron and Great Egret are in the same genus (Ardea), and so are quite closely related. Snowy Egret and Little Blue Heron are in the same genus (Egretta) with each other, and so are more closely related to each other than the other birds called "egret" and "heron". So just wanted to note caution about making generalizations about birds based on what they are called in common parlance.

Best,
Jim

 

[BuckeyeAZ]

Great White (Blue) Heron and Great Egret are in the same genus (Ardea), and so are quite closely related. Snowy Egret and Little Blue Heron are in the same genus (Egretta) with each other, and so are more closely related to each other than the other birds called "egret" and "heron".

There's plenty as would disagree with your chosen taxonomy.

 

[Jim M.]

There's plenty as would disagree with your chosen taxonomy.

Really? It's currently the standard AOU taxonomy in this country. Don't have my refs handy to check the Collins guide, etc.

 

[Jeff Hopkins]

Really? It's the standard AOU taxonomy in this country. Don't have my refs handy to check the Collins guide, etc.

Great Egret has also been in Egretta as well as Casmerodius.

 

[Jim M.]

BNA 2001 article on Great Egret says regarding the history of its taxonomy:

Long classified in monotypic genus Casmerodius, although merged into Egretta by Bock (1956). More recently placed in genus Ardea on basis of morphological characteristics and DNA-DNA hybridization evidence (Payne and Risley 1976, Sheldon 1987, Sibley and Ahlquist 1990). Recent study using DNA hybridization suggested Great Egret more closely related to Ardea and Bubulcus than to Egretta (Sheldon and Slikas 1997). Evaluation of osteological (reanalysis of Payne and Risley 1976 data) versus molecular and vocal characters of ardeids discussed by McCracken and Sheldon (1998).

​

History is not really the issue here though.

 

[MJB]

BNA 2001 article on Great Egret says regarding the history of its taxonomy:

Long classified in monotypic genus Casmerodius, although merged into Egretta by Bock (1956). More recently placed in genus Ardea on basis of morphological characteristics and DNA-DNA hybridization evidence (Payne and Risley 1976, Sheldon 1987, Sibley and Ahlquist 1990). Recent study using DNA hybridization suggested Great Egret more closely related to Ardea and Bubulcus than to Egretta (Sheldon and Slikas 1997). Evaluation of osteological (reanalysis of Payne and Risley 1976 data) versus molecular and vocal characters of ardeids discussed by McCracken and Sheldon (1998).​

History is not really the issue here though.

Neat summary, JM! Life would be easier if there were summaries like that for many more species and species-groups!
MJB

 

[Jim M.]

Thanks MJB. Checking the 2d edition of the Collin's guide, it follows AOU in putting Snowy Egret, Little Egret, Little Blue Heron, and Tricolored Heron in the same genus, Egretta and Great Blue Heron in Ardea, but differs from AOU in retaining Great Egret in the monotypic genus Casmerodius.

Best,
Jim

 

[MJB]

Thanks MJB. Checking the 2d edition of the Collin's guide, it follows AOU in putting Snowy Egret, Little Egret, Little Blue Heron, and Tricolored Heron in the same genus, Egretta and Great Blue Heron in Ardea, but differs from AOU in retaining Great Egret in the monotypic genus Casmerodius. Best, Jim

Yep, got that, too. I note that the IOC2.8 relumping of Western alba and Eastern modesta (W China) is couched in terms of re-evaluation of Nearctic and Palearctic taxa, which paper is keenly anticipated.

Because all alba breeding populations are geographically separate from the single (?) modesta population, there is some merit in retaining the geographical modifiers, IOC simply reverting to 'Great Egret'. What we need is KM1 to cite plumage and morphological differences between the two.

It seems that any seeming modesta vagrant that has been claimed within the Western Palearctic has been written off as a 'hormone-deficient' small alba individual; that may be sound speculation, but it is just that, speculation...
MJB