Tuesday 3 June 2014

Little Egret x Snowy Egret

apparent Little Egret x Snowy Egret hybrid, Aruba (Lesser Antilles), April 2013 - copyright Steve Mlodinow
(photo ID: 1189)


Steve writes:
"I really thought this was a Little Egret when I first saw it, partly because of the two plumes whipping around in the breeze.  The legs were yellow, but more olive-yellow than the bright yellow of the nearby Snowy Egrets, and then no yellow or green ran up the back of the legs, as it did with most (or all?) of the Snowies present.  Additionally, this bird did not show the filoplumes on the back that the Snowies did.  In direct comparison, the bill looked thicker.  However, the lores are rather bright (not impossibly so) for Little Egret, perhaps the head plumes a tad short... and there are some (reduced but present) of the bushy filoplumes on the neck/nape that Snowy Egrets show.  So, I suspect that this bird is a hybrid."
Comments are welcome (as always)!





apparent Little Egret x Snowy Egret hybrid (same bird as in photo ID 1189 above), Aruba (Lesser Antilles), April 2013 - copyright Steve Mlodinow
(photo IDs: 1185-1188)


Little Egret Egretta garzetta
Snowy Egret Egretta thula

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