Rarely, aerial foraging occurs (e.g., diving, hover-and- stab, flycatching, etc.). The grey heron has similar plumage but has a gray neck and lacks the brown … Nearly all (perhaps all?) Reddish Egrets are intermediate in size between Great and Snowy egrets. Similar in size to Snowy Egrets, juvenile Little Blues are slightly heavier, with thicker necks and a heavier, droopier, usually two-toned bill that is paler at the base. Learning to age herons is also important, as critical field marks change with age [see the book for details on ageing herons]. They use their long, sharp bills to stab at fish, frogs, or large insects while gracefully wading through estuarine shallows, ponds, marshes, and ditches. A widespread species, Great Egret is common along most coastlines and even inland in many places, as well as north into southern Canada. The white first-year birds remain white through the first winter but then become dappled with slate blue–gray feathers as they transition to adult plumage in their first summer. Adult Little Blue Herons are very dark all over. Juvenile white morph has some gray in plumage. Compared to the superficially similar Great Egret, the Great White is heavier overall and not as bright white, and the legs are dusky pale to grayish yellow. Young birds have less white on the face. Sometimes individuals with a mix of white and dark feathers occur. Flies with its neck tucked in and legs trailing behind. Given their apparently small population, Great Whites exhibit a rather strong tendency to stray, with vagrant records west to Texas, north to maritime Canada, and inland to the Great Lakes. The nuptial plumes on the head form a short-moderate shaggy crest behind the nape (becoming spiky when erect). Wades in shallow wetlands or stands patiently as it stalks fish, amphibians, crustaceans, and insects. They somewhat resemble “calico” Little Blues, appearing as dark-morph adults with some white feathers mixed in. The full volume contains 24 chapters, each focusing on a different group, from sparrows to swans and kingbirds to cormorants—enough for a lifetime of practice and learning. Slender, long necked, tall, and graceful in bearing, it is deliberate in its movements, frequently foraging with its bill held horizontal or tilted skyward. Identification challenges within this group. A very large heron like bird that hunts small creatures using its bizarre spatula-like bill to sieve tasty morsels from the water, sweeping its head from side to side. 4. In the northern part of their range they are migratory, and migrants are regular to parts of the US-Canadian border (only rarely breeding in Canada) but become scarce north of there. Beware of distant Wood Storks, immature spoonbills, White Ibis, or Whooping Cranes that might cause confusion. * This map is intended as a guide. This is a fairly small heron with a slight body, slender neck, and fairly long legs. Loons, herons, and kingfishers, for instance, all have long sharp pointed beaks for spearing fish. Immatures are less experienced and more vulnerable, and since white herons are preyed on more than dark ones, as part of a flock they benefit from the increased predator detection and safety in numbers. They are slender, long legged, and long necked and have a fairly thick, straight bill and long, dark gray legs. Little Egret is an Old World species and an accidental vagrant to eastern North America, with records scattered between Newfoundland and Virginia. Ibises are somewhat heron-like but have shorter necks, rounder (often bare) heads and more slender, curved bills. Adults: On breeding adults the back and scapulars are adorned with stringy plumes, and the bill is distinctively pink based and bicolored. Immatures: The bare parts of juveniles are less saturated than those of adults and appear to become similar to those of adults by the first spring. In part because dark morphs predominate, the white morphs are subject to neglect by unwary birders, especially vagrants away from the Gulf region. They may eventually enjoy the challenge of ageing these birds, and distinguishing them from white-morph Reddish Egrets and immature Little Blue Herons. This order has a single family: Immature Little Blues are similar to immature Snowy Egrets. Great Egrets and other herons at times flock around them. Immatures: These are similar to nonbreeding adults, but with even duskier bare parts. Habitat preferences, foraging techniques, and feeding postures differ among these birds, and being aware of these helps narrow the possibilities considerably. How these orange areas become orange is mysterious (perhaps it is topically administered), but the coloration is not a result of molt. 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