Bird ID

[derwoodynck]

Looking for a little help on this white bird seen at Tule Lake in early Oct.



For size reference here it is behind some white pelicans.

[kepPNW]

The neck would offer a lot of clues. First thought was some type of egret. Sometimes they'll sit with that long neck of theirs all tucked down...

[bobcat]

It's a snowy egret - black legs, yellow feet, black bill. The only other egret it can be confused with is the cattle egret, which has a yellow bill.

[kepPNW]

It's a snowy egret - black legs, yellow feet, black bill. The only other egret it can be confused with is the cattle egret, which has a yellow bill.

Ha! I was going to suggest that, and in fact got that photo I used from the Wikipedia page for snowy egrets. But the mapped range, on the same page, led me to think there must be more look-alikes locally? Maybe not!

[bobcat]

Here's the ODFW page: https://myodfw.com/wildlife-viewing/spe ... and-egrets

The maps I've seen are a bit off in term of range and season. I've seen them most times I go to the Klamath Falls area and also Malheur NWR (Yes, also around Tule Lake). The only look alike is the cattle egret, which is much less frequently seen in Oregon. The only other white egret (the great or common egret) is much larger and poses with its long neck in an S shape. They are everywhere - literally - on five continents!

[adamschneider]

Good to know about the black vs. yellow bills. (I've only seen cattle egrets in Hawaii so far.)

[derwoodynck]

Thanks - I should have guessed some kind of egrets but didn't know about the bills. Just a bit to the left of that one this was going on.



Of course those were the yellow bill variety.