Little Egret - Blus Bill - Spain (1 Viewer)

[vgarland]

Hi,

I was in El Rocio, Spain, a few weeks ago and I captured this image of a Stork on 04 March in the lagoon.

Is the blue bill on the Iittle Egret in the foreground unusual?

Best regards,

Victor Garland.

 

[creedence]

Breeding colours I think

 

[Butty]

It's a photo-artifact. If you look closely it's actually in blotches, and see also the 'blue' edges to (e.g.) rear head feathers, veg, etc. The whole photo looks slightly over-saturated (no offence).

 

[vgarland]

None taken....I agree I was a little over the top in Photoshop! Here is original image - cropped - but no other edits! I still find the bill unusual looking!

 

[vgarland]

El Rocio March 2024

 

[Richard D]

El Rocio March 2024

The blue does look quite extensive, but not abnormal - for comparison one I took at the weekend (unprocessed) showing the development of breeding plumage (UK):

 

[Butty]

I still find the bill unusual looking!

There's now only the patch near the tip that could be called bluish; none of it's blue - and note that other blue edge-effects etc in the photo have gone. In the 2nd photo I'd say most of the bill's perceived colour is grey - but hard-bare-part colours are odd, and strongly affected by such things as their surface texture, nature of incident lighting, etc - and, given that, I find this bill's appearance unremarkable.