Date: 12/29/25 10:39 am From: David Suddjian via groups.io <dsuddjian...> Subject: Re: [pen-bird] Juvenile Great Egrets or Cattle Egrets?
I think it is a Great Egret. Western Cattle-Egret has a differently shaped
head/chin and bill, a shorter neck and would look a good bit smaller yet
than an adjacent Great Egret than is shown in your photo. There are sexual
size differences in the Great Egret, with males being larger all around.
Considering just tarsus length, for example, the male Great Egret averages
10-15% longer than the female, according to data given in the Birds of the
World species account. I believe that an immature bird born this year would
appear similarly sized to the same sex adult, and not smaller because it is
younger.
David Suddjian
Littleton, CO
On Mon, Dec 29, 2025 at 10:15 AM Naomi Goodman via groups.io <nlgoodman=
<hotmail.com...> wrote:
> I posted it to iNat with additional pictures, and one person agrees with
> you, but it's surprisingly difficult to find reliable information on
> juvenile Great Egret size after fledging. Some sources suggest they are
> the same size as adults.
>
> https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/332546665 >
> I think the dark bill tips on the three smaller birds weighs it toward
> Great Egret, compared to the Cattle Egrets seen in November nearby, as here
> in Chris Hayward's checklist.
>
> https://ebird.org/checklist/S285125299 >
>
> On 12/29/2025 9:08 AM, Lisa Larson wrote:
>
> Yes, I did. And yes, LBHE have dark beaks, so my bad. I think it's a
> smaller Great Egret. Plus, the perspective of the photo makes it look
> smaller.
>
> It doesn't seem stocky enough for a Cattle Egret. And it seems devoid of
> color in the plumage.
>
> What's the consensus?
>
> On Sun, Dec 28, 2025, 8:03 PM Naomi Goodman <nlgoodman...> wrote:
>
>> Little blue heron juveniles have dark beaks. Why did you suggest that?
>>
>> From my cell phone
>> ------------------------------
>> *From:* Lisa Larson <lisafaylarson...>
>> *Sent:* Sunday, December 28, 2025 5:18:36 PM
>> *To:* <nlgoodman...> <nlgoodman...>
>> *Cc:* Peninsula Birding <peninsula-birding...>
>> *Subject:* Re: [pen-bird] Juvenile Great Egrets or Cattle Egrets?
>>
>> I suspect it is an immature Little Blue Heron.
>>
>> Lisa
>>
>> On Sun, Dec 28, 2025, 5:04 PM Naomi Goodman via groups.io <nlgoodman=
>> <hotmail.com...> wrote:
>>
>> This afternoon at 2:30 PM there was a Great Egret and three smaller white
>> egrets in the field next to the Pescadero post office. The smaller ones
>> were about 3/4 the size of the Great Egret - see picture. All the egrets
>> had yellow bills and black or grey-black legs and feet.
>>
>> To me, the smaller egrets looked similar to the 3 Cattle Egrets that were
>> on Water Lane in November, but I can't distinguish Cattle Egrets from
>> juvenile Great Egrets. What do you think?
>>
>> Naomi
>>
>>
>
>
