Medium-sized heron with a shaggy rusty-colored neck, slate-gray body, and heavy, two-toned bill.
Small percentage of the population in Florida and the Gulf Coast are entirely white. Breeding adults have a pink bill with a black tip. Note shaggy-looking neck.
Has a very active foraging style compared to many herons—often runs through shallows to catch prey.
Immature birds are grayish overall with a dark bill.
Medium-sized shaggy-necked heron. Juvenile white morphs are entirely white with a dark bill.
Performs dancing displays during courtship with wings spread, plumes erect, and heads up. The base of the bill on breeding birds is pink.
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A fairly large, powerfully built but elegant heron. Reddish Egrets have long, sturdy legs, long necks, and thick, daggerlike bills. The feathers of the head and neck are often extended, giving a shaggy appearance.
Larger than a Snowy Egret, smaller than a Great Egret.
goose-sized or largerMost authorities recognize two subspecies: rufescens ranges from Florida and Texas southward through South America, and the darker dickeyi is restricted to western Mexico.
Herons, Egrets, and Bitterns(Order: Pelecaniformes, Family: Ardeidae)
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