![]() From a great distance it’s possible to confuse them with a reddish, but they skew more towards the dark blue end of color spectrum, as opposed to reddish/mauve. They’re only 2 feet tall, with a more compact build. Little blue herons were named simply as if they’re the small version of the great blue heron, but they have their own thing going on. I do, on occasion, see a lone tri-color, but over the last few years I’ve seen them in groups of five to 40 birds. The biggest clue is their white belly and the heavily contrasting dark breast, neck and wings. They actually do have a three-colored plumage when young, though when they mature, it is more like four colors. Their necks are so long and so thin, I wonder how they can be functional. I generally clue into tri-colored herons because they’re the skinniest of the herons. Also, if you see a bird dancing like a freak in the shallows, it’s a reddish. ![]() But the adults have two-toned bills, pinkish toward the face, dark toward the outer tip. They are bulkier than snowy egrets – linebackers, compared to running backs. The white ones take a little more attention. Reddish egrets come in two flavors (properly called color phases) - the reddish/mauve of their name, and white. golden slippers, are the easiest way to identify them. They’re denizens of the lower half of North America, the Caribbean and nearly all of South America. They’re usually in the company of other snowy egrets, but sometimes are seen solo. They give the impression of a slighter build, and often have a few longer plume feathers hanging off the back of their head like a cowlick. They are a pretty cosmopolitan species, found not just in North and South America, but also in all the A continents – Asia, Australia, and Africa.Īnother all-white wading bird, the snowy egret is two-thirds the size of the great egret. So here’s the cheat: Great white herons have pale, tannish legs. They also have an overall slimmer build and less hefty bill, all of which doesn’t necessarily inspire confidence if you’re trying to make an ID, especially when you’re first starting out. It’s about two-thirds the size of a great white, though that’s not a great field mark if they’re not standing next to each other. The great egret is also a tall, all-white wading bird that hangs around in similar habitats as the great white heron. It’s difficult to confuse them with any other species … except the… They are essentially the same size and shape as the great blue, with the same railroad spike bill, but their plumage is all white, as if they’re wearing a fancy tuxedo from the ’80s. ![]() Many people call the great white heron the wordier, more technically correct, “great blue heron, white color morph.” (That’s how it’s listed on most checklists.) But they’re a hometown bird, and I’m rooting for them to be considered their own species again, so I always refer to them as great whites. They are officially considered a subspecies of the great blue heron, but that could change, depending on how the folks at the American Ornithological Society define a species. The great white heron only occurs in the Florida Keys and extreme South Florida. You see them most often standing statue-like on the shore, as if posing for a postage stamp photo, but they’ll occasionally be flying or hunting for fish in the flats. Their range is all over North America, stretching down through Mexico and Central America. It’s got a solid, railroad spike of a bill, and plumage that is primarily a slaty blue, but with a whitish face and a black crown. Approximately 4 feet tall, it’s the tallest bird you’ll see in the Keys.
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