TROPIC and NEAR-TROPIC BIRD COLLECTION

Great Egret Flight Great Egret- Ardea alba Great Egret- Ardea alba, Order CICONIIFORMES - Family ARDEIDAE. While I have seen countless Great Egrets in the southern United States, this is a first for me in Ohio. The were several individuals at Gilmore Ponds in Hamilton Ohio. "Great Egrets have black legs while the Great White Heron, the white form of the Great Blue Heron, has a heavier bill and pale, not black, legs." (Photo: May 9, 2004, Gilmore Ponds, Canon 10D, EF 400mm f/5.6L USM) "A large white heron, the Great Egret is found across much of the world, from southern Canada southward to Argentina, and in Europe, Africa, Asia, and Australia. It's the largest egret in the Old World, and thus has garnered the name Great White Egret. But in the Americas, the white form of the Great Blue Heron is larger and warrants that name. The Great Egret is the symbol of the National Audubon Society, one of the oldest environmental organizations in North America." For More Species Info: http://www.birds.cornell.edu/programs/AllAboutBirds/BirdGuide/Great_Egret.html

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Photos Copyright R. Hays Cummins. Authorization required. For permission, contact bigbendwildlands@gmail.com

Sources of species identification and other amazing info include (1) Cornell Lab of Ornithology--a fantastic site; (2)Birds of Eastern and Central North America, Peterson Field Guide Series, Fifth Edition, Houghton Mifflin Company; (3) The National Audubon Society's Sibley Guide to Birds and (4) Field Guide to the Birds of North America, Third Edition, National Geographic, Washington, D.C.