cattle egret in flight
i want to ask your ornithologist why the first cattle egret has a pale color near the nostrils while the second one is red.
thankyou
I'm not an ornithologist but I think the difference is non-breeding vs. breeding plumage/colors.
I agree with you but the problem is that the plumage is of the breeding type in both; why the bill is not?
Maybe the difference between male and female?Originally Posted by Paolo Piazza
on the guide to the birds of europe is said that the first aspect is visible during summer but the photo has been taken last week (spring, not summer!) ; the second photo is that of the courtship plumage; they have been taken in the same place with one week of delay.
i never heard it is possible to differentiate between sex in cattle egret.
I don't think you can tell the sex of this species by plumage. My guess is that the first bird is in it's second summer (hatched 2008) and is coming into full adult breeding plumage but is not quite there yet. This is common with young birds. The second bird looks like a full adult.
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