White Herons or Great Egrets?
I went out to Clyde Shepherd Nature Preserve looking for a yellow crowned night heron and was pleasantly surprised to find a trio of these. I am not 100% sure of the species. The bills are fairly heavy which makes me think white heron but the black legs say egret. I'd love to have a positive ID from one of the more knowing members here.
The great egret also known as common egret, large egret or great white heron, is a large, widely distributed egret. Distributed across most of the tropical and warmer temperate regions of the world, in southern Europe it is rather localized. In North America it is more widely distributed, and it is ubiquitous across the Sun Belt of the United States and in the Neotropics.
Similar species: Pelicans, Herons, Ibises
By denniruz
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Uploaded Jun 15, 2018. Captured Jun 14, 2018 19:35 in Beaver Pond Trail, Decatur, GA 30033, USA.
comments (1)
I keep getting confused by both words even after all these years, but know that in terms of taxonomy, there is no distinction between a heron and an egret. They are common names assigned to species across multiple genuses, therefore there is no such thing as a group of Egrets or Herons in the "tree of life". They are mere labels put on birds based on superficial characteristics.
My guess here would be the great Egret, it matches in size, bill, legs, and distribution. Posted 7 years ago