Date: 6/8/26 9:51 pm From: Van Remsen via groups.io <vnremsen...> Subject: Re: [labird] White herons
Pat/Jennifer --- no idea what's going on! There is some evidence that the
nearly cosmopolitan Great Egret could be treated as two or more separate
species, but if Merlin is plunging ahead of everyone with some new
taxonomy, then they either botched it because the Eurasian species would be
Ardea alba, and the one here in the Western Hemisphere would be Ardea
egretta, not Ardea alba, or, much more likely, they treat the Eurasian and
Western Hemisphere subspecies as the same species but have invented a new
English name for it because of the split of other Old World subspecies like
African melanorhynhcos . Also, be sure to have your Merlin "pack" set for
the "Southeastern United States".
Great Egret gives a loud, distinctive, raucous, guttural call several times
when flushed, which you would hear if you were anywhere within a hundred
yards. As you've probably picked up from LABIRD, Merlin performs amazingly
well in many cases but amazingly badly in others, including identifying
inanimate objects and other animals as birds, so be careful. Van Remsen
On Mon, Jun 8, 2026 at 6:17 AM Jennifer Outlaw Coulson via groups.io
<jenniferocoulson...> wrote:
> Sorry, I forgot to add that Great White Heron has also been treated as a
> subspecies of Great Blue Heron.
>
> On Mon, Jun 8, 2026 at 6:15 AM Jennifer Outlaw Coulson via groups.io
> <jenniferocoulson...> wrote:
>
> > Hi Pat,
> >
> > I honestly do not know what Merlin is identifying as a "White Heron" by
> > sound, but the scientific name that Merlin provided (in your screenshot)
> is
> > currently referred to most commonly as the Great Egret. The Great Egret
> is
> > common throughout Louisiana, including in the Husser area.
> >
> > The Great White Heron is currently treated as a species, *Ardea
> > occidentalis*, restricted to peninsular Florida, although it has been
> known
> > to stray. It was previously lumped with Great Blue Heron when it was
> > considered to be a white morph.
> >
> > No doubt Van or others have more information. Here's some reading on the
> > subject:
> >
> > https://www.heronconservation.org/jhbc/vol07/art01/ > >
> >
> >
> https://www.allaboutbirds.org/news/how-to-identify-white-herons-excerpt-from-better-birding-book/ > >
> > Jennifer Coulson
> > Pearl River, Louisiana
> >
> >
> > On Sun, Jun 7, 2026 at 7:32 AM Patricia Lanier via groups.io
> > <patricia.lanier...> wrote:
> >
> > > Are white herons now considered common in Louisiana?
> > > This bird is appearing often in the Merlin sessions I do on my morning
> > > walks. However, I never see them. So I generally ignore it when I do
> the
> > > eBird reports.
> > >
> > >
> > > Pat Lanier
> > > Husser, Louisiana
> > >
> > >
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