Yesterday an interesting video was put on facebook. It showed a small heron/egret (egrets are mainly white) walking in the grass stalking prey, in a backyard on Broadway Avenue.
Curious, the search was on to find this bird. After a number of photographs, and another search on the internet – it was difficult to determine which bird this was. Could it be a Little Green Heron or a Cattle Egret?
The first way to figure this out was by size…
The great egret is slightly smaller than a blue heron, and can be distinguished from other white egrets by its yellow bill and black legs and feet, though the bill may become darker and the lower legs lighter in the breeding season. So that is a no.
The cattle egret is a stocky heron with an 88–96 cm (35–38 in) wingspan; it is 46–56 cm (18–22 in) long and weighs 270–512 g (9.5–18.1 oz). Possible
Snowy egrets are typically 61 cm (24 in) long and weigh 375 g (0.827 lb) They have a slim black bill and long black legs with yellow feet. Another possible.
Then the Little Blue Heron in white…
It was a difficult choice but it came down to either a Cattle Egret or a Little Blue Heron. My thought is that it is a Cattle Egret. The Cattle Egret walks in grass and is not as elegant as the Little Blue Heron who is tall and slim.
An interesting visitor to be sure.
