Egret identification

I saw an Egret on the Plain yesterday and on peering closely determined it was an Intermediate Egret rather than the more usual Great Egret.  As, when not in breeding plumage, they are basically white water birds it is a bit tricky to tell them apart I thought I'd share a couple of poor photographs.

If you are lucky enough to get the two species close together the Great is clearly the larger of the two.  However it is against the Rules of Nature for birds to be so cooperative!  I did get some snaps of a Great Egret at Kellys Swamp on Valentine's Day and have used them below.

The two best field marks are:

• the length of the neck relative to the body.  These are about equal in the Intermediate Egret

•  but the neck is much longer in the Great Egret.

 .. when it is not twisted!

• If you get a close look the bare yellow skin does not go past the eye in the Intermediate Egret 

 This intermediate was also at Kellys.

In the Great Egret the yellow clearly goes past the eye.

There are two other Egret species possible in this area.

• The Little Egret is smaller again (about the size of a White-faced Heron) but has a dark bill.  They are quite rare in this area.
• Cattle Egrets are easy in breeding plumage as their wings are an orangey colour.  In non-breeding plumage they are distinctly dumpy in shape, rather than the fairly graceful profile of the other species.  They are also usually found in pasture (rather than water) associating with bovines!  They are becoming more frequent in this area..