What Is It?

[Joseph Przybyla]

I am posting this bird for your critique but also you thoughts on it's identification. I emailed the image to Artie, he responded saying that he thought it was most likely a Snowy Egret hybrid crossed with either a Tri-colored Heron or a Little Blue Heron. He also mentioned a Western Reef Heron to consider. I captured the image yesterday at Circle B Bar Reserve in Polk County, Florida. It was amongst a group of Snowy Egrets and Tri-colored Herons feeding at a culvert. Comments and critique welcomed and appreciated. Thank you for viewing.

Nikon D7000
Nikon 80-400mm VRII AF-S ED shot at 330mm (495mm FFE)
1/2000 F/5.6 Matrix Metering 0 EV ISO 450 AWB
Post processed in Lightroom 6 and Photoshop Elements 10
Cropped for composition and presentation

[Bill Dix]

That's a lovely shot of a curious bird, in more ways than one. Nice inquisitive pose and blue bg. To my untrained eye, the bird seems to have the legs of a juvenile Little Blue, the body of a molting juvenile Tricolored, and the bill and lores of a Snowy. If I had to hazard a guess I'd say it was a hybrid Tricolored/Snowy, if such a thing is possible. Little Blues can be very mottled in transitional plumage, but that should have happened in the Spring. I'll be curious to hear what others think. In any case, a good image. Thanks for posting.

[Geoff Newhouse]

Great image...lovely details.

I would go with Snowy x Little Blue. My Sibley guide doesn't list any hybrids but it does make a point of comparing the beaks between juvenile Snowy and Little Blue and this guy looks Little Blue except for the beak which is Snowy to me. And of course the mixed plumage suggesting the cross.

TFS
Geoff

[Joseph Przybyla]

Bill and Geoff, thanks for viewing and commenting. Here is another image of the same bird. In this one the legs appear very long. Wonder what others think?

[gail bisson]

I am not a good enough birder to venture a guess.
It also seems to have some extra skin at the bottom of left leg.
I love the subject though.
Good IQ and gotta love the raised crest.

[keith mitchell]

Can't help with the ID Joe but your image looks good whatever it is, pose and crest give it lots of interest ,perhaps not the best perch but it would be lovely if we could perch them where we fancy, nice work.

[William Dickson]

Fantastic details Joe. Really love that pose. the colours on the bird go really well with the BG

Will

[Ákos Lumnitzer]

Don't know if the back of the leg is a deformity perhaps. No idea of your US birds; sorry. It's a heron.
We have one that may look vaguely similar, the White-faced Heron, but I did say vaguely and the top picture immediately
reminded me of one of those (which it obviously cannot be).

Love the pose on the OP and the details.
Hope you get a good ID.

For a bit of info,: in Oz, we had two different hawks interbreed, producing hybrids (Brown and Grey Goshawks). But only rarely, to my knowledge, there is only one known record from the 1980s.

[Tony Whitehead]

Interesting bird, Joe. Legs, bill and eye look right for a Snowy Egret, so my guess would be a partially melanistic Snowy.