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A peek at Florida's Nature
Reddish Egret
The Reddish Egret gets its name from the shaggy reddish-brown feathers on its head and long neck. It is one of the less commonly seen herons.The body and wings of this bird are slate gray. Its long legs are blue. The most unique feature of the adult is its long pointed bill which is pink at the base and black at the tip.
The adult Reddish Egret has a pink and black bill
The Reddish Egret is a medium size heron, about 30 inches tall. It is smaller than the Great Blue Heron, but taller than the Little Blue Heron. It wades in coastal swamps, marshes and lagoons where it searches the shallow water for fish, frogs and small crabs.
An adult Reddish Egret does its "dance"
The Reddish Egret dance
If you are lucky enough to spot a Reddish Egret, you might see it perform the "dance" it uses to hunt food. It raises its wings high to cast a shadow on the water, which reduces the sun's glare and helps to drive the bird's prey. The bird prances forward or in circles and darts its pointed bill into the water to grab its food. This "dance" looks awkward, but it is a very effective hunting method.
If you are lucky enough to spot a Reddish Egret, you might see it perform the "dance" it uses to hunt food. It raises its wings high to cast a shadow on the water, which reduces the sun's glare and helps to drive the bird's prey. The bird prances forward or in circles and darts its pointed bill into the water to grab its food. This "dance" looks awkward, but it is a very effective hunting method.
The adolescent Reddish Egret has a dark bill with pink streaks
Reddish Egrets make their nests in mangroves, in low bushes or even on the ground. Their eggs are light blue-green. The young Reddish Egret is paler than the adult, lacks the shaggy neck feathers and has a dark bill. As the bird gets older, its plumage gets darker and the bill develops pink streaks. At adulthood, the bill is pink at the base and dark at the tip.
This bird can be found in the southern half of Florida and along the Gulf coasts of Louisiana, Texas and Mexico.
The white morph
There is a white version of the Reddish Egret that is called a white morph. In birding terminology, a morph is a distinct version of the bird. It does not mean the bird starts out one color and morphs to another color. The white morph of this bird is more common in the Caribbean. Its plumage is all white, but like the dark morph, it has blue legs and the distinctive pink and black bill.
This bird can be found in the southern half of Florida and along the Gulf coasts of Louisiana, Texas and Mexico.
The white morph
There is a white version of the Reddish Egret that is called a white morph. In birding terminology, a morph is a distinct version of the bird. It does not mean the bird starts out one color and morphs to another color. The white morph of this bird is more common in the Caribbean. Its plumage is all white, but like the dark morph, it has blue legs and the distinctive pink and black bill.
The photos on this page were taken in
Palm Harbor, Florida
All photos on this website by J.A. Heintz
All written material by D.C. Heintz
Copyright 2010 D.C. Heintz. All rights reserved.
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