Back to Little Egret main page To find a Little Egret among Snowy Egrets: Look for long dangling head plumes (which all adult Little Egrets have, except when molting in fall, and all Snowy Egrets lack, except for a few rare individuals that may be hybrids). American Bittern: Medium, secretive, heron-like wading bird with stout body and neck, and relatively short legs. Least Bittern. Breeding Snowy Egrets grow filmy, curving plumes that once fetched astronomical prices in the fashion industry, endangering the species. 25 years ago the sighting of any White Heron in the UK would have been greeted with excitement. It didn’t look like a great blue heron, because it was an all-white bird, and great blue herons have a distinctive gray-blue color with a black band behind the eye. While Little Egret is now relatively common, it can sometimes be confused at distance with a much rarer visitor - Great White Egret. The great white egret is almost as large as a grey heron, but with longer legs and a longer neck. In the breeding season it develops a tan head, neck and breast, and reddish orange bill tipped with yellow. The neck is about one and a half times as long as the body. Click to continue> Great Egret (Ardea alba) The Great Egret is a large white water bird with yellow bill. Upperparts are streaked brown and buff and underparts are white with brown streaks. Photo about A very beautiful bird with an exquisite white on the seashore. Juvenile birds are white with grey bill. Image of birds, small, egret - 42596897 The size and shape of a grey heron but pure white except for black legs and a bright yellow dagger of a beak – easy to spot, even at long distances. Throat is white with black slashes on sides of neck. This video also helps separate GW Egret from 'white' or leucistic Grey Herons. Those feet seem to play a role in stirring up or herding small aquatic animals as the egret forages. The great white egret is a similar size and shape of a grey heron/Credit: Getty. Exotic and migratory. It has a large, dagger-like bill that is yellow for most of the year, but becomes mostly black in breeding birds. The upper legs are yellowish, sometimes turning reddish in breeding birds, and the lower legs and feet are black - unlike the yellow feet of the little egret. That narrowed down the choices to an egret or a heron, although an egret is technically a type of heron. Strong direct flight with deep rapid wing beats. Among the most elegant of the herons, the slender Snowy Egret sets off immaculate white plumage with black legs and brilliant yellow feet. The Cattle Egret is a small white egret with a yellow bill and grey legs. Look for dark gray lores which will make the … Finding and identifying a Little Egret among Snowy Egrets Read More » They are birds of observation difficult. 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