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Reddish Egret

Discussion

5 replies
Posted by Philip Hodgkins on July 10, 2011 at 6:34 PM
A friend has seen what I would call a Reddish Egret. Others claim it to be a morph of a Little Blue Heron. If it is a Reddish Egret, it certainly is far from home! However, other species roam and so could the RE. It does beg the question, however: is it possible for a LBH to look like an RE? This was shot at Skidaway Island near Savannah, GA several weeks ago.
http://api.ning.com/files/i9e8xovjo9xQt2jNFo-dijPZgLlEBTwBpp5E5FXuuQ5ZqUWTzLpLbsbHYv*xF3xxtYdsIkFZx4X7V2EPPSw3ySSGuQ5OFRoN/IMG_5134_edited1.JPG
Posted by Luke Ormand on July 10, 2011 at 8:30 PM
This looks like a Little Blue heron to me. . . is there a clear shot of the bill? Reddish Egrets tend to have a pink/blue two-toned bill.
Posted by SandyRichardsBrown on July 11, 2011 at 2:48 AM
Phil, Looks like a little blue to me, as well - tough to tell without the beak, as Luke mentioned.
Sandy
Posted by Lance Warley on July 11, 2011 at 6:55 AM
I was expecting to see a younger one, because I thought the issue might be caused by both being in their white morph stage. But given its color, I'm making it three for LBH.
Posted by RL Potts on July 12, 2011 at 2:47 PM
I think that if the blue on the water was bluer, this would look more like LBH.
Posted by Buck Ward on July 12, 2011 at 10:57 PM
The coloration is certainly reddish-like and the wing posture is common in reddish egrets and rare in little blue herons, unless it was landing. The two-tone bill of the reddish is seasonal. This doesn't have the characteristic shaggy mane of an adult reddish, but juvenile reddish egrets don;t show the mane. Juvenile and adult reddish egrets have pale eyes. Juvenile little blues have yellowish eyes, adult little blues' eyes may be a little darker. Reddish egrets have black legs; Little blue herons have greenish legs. The legs of this bird look brown.

I did a quick scan through my archive but I could not find a little blue with eye as dark as this one. The reddish egret is my most photographed bird. I was surprised to discover how little I have photographed little blue herons. I think surely they are more plentiful in these parts the reddish egrets.

To see them in real life, it's easy to tell the difference between a reddish and a little blue. The reddish is larger and the two birds act and move quite differently. The color and posture of this bird say reddish egret, but other than that it sure looks like a little blue heron.