All,

I thought that I'd check one final source for this identification challenge
- and I hit the jackpot. I have a 1990 copy of the Peterson Field Guides
Advanced Birding (by Ken Kaufman) and it has a section specifically on the
identification of medium sized white herons. I won't paraphrase - here is
the text on field marks - Snowy Egret vs. Little Blue Heron.

Leg color: The Snowy Egret's well-known pattern of black legs and yellow
toes applies only to adults. On immature Snowies the legs are mostly
yellowish green, with a stripe of black down the front of each leg, and the
toes are often dull greenish yellow, not bright yellow. It takes a close
look to see the difference between this pattern and the plain greenish legs
and feet of the immature Little Blue Heron.

Bill and face color: Most Snowy Egrets have black bills, but a minority of
the immatures have a pale base to the bill - extending up to one-half or
even two-thirds of its length - which appears very similar to the pattern of
the immature Little Blue. More helpful is the color of the bare skin on the
face in the loral area, between the eye and the base of the bill. In Little
Blue Heron this area is gray; in Snowy Egret it is bright yellow. A
possible pitfall is that the young Little Blue may show some yellow right at
the base of the bill, so it is important to look at the color of the facial
skin itself.

Bill shape: The difference is subtle, but the bill of Little Blue Heron
tends to be stouter toward the base than that of Snowy Egret, and it often
looks somewhat more decurved.

Dusky wingtips: The plumage of Snowy Egret is all white at all stages, but
the Little Blue is never pure white: even in the youngest immatures, the
tips of the outer primaries are gray. This gray area is not especially dark
and not sharply contrasted, so it can be difficult to see, but i would be
essential in identifying a young Little Blue out of range.

Behavior: Although it should never be used as the main diagnostic point for
any heron, feeding behavior can be surprisingly helpfeul for separating
these two species. Snowy Egrets when foraging tend to be active, wading in
the shallows with many shuffling motions of the feet to stir things up.
Little Blues useually move more slowly, and they are often seen leaning far
forward, lookin gintently down at the water.
The posture in flight can sometimes provide a minor clue. All herons
typically fly with their heads hunched back onto their shoulders, but they
may occasionally fly short distances with their necks fully extended.
Little Blue Heron has a tendency to fly with its neck extended more often
than Snowy Egret or most other herons.

A Field Guide to Advanced Birding: Birding challenges and how to approach
them. Kenn Kaufman. pp 34-35. 1990, Houghton Mifflin, New York, New York-
ISBN 0-395-53517-4.

Typos strictly the property of Rob Conway.

Of special note to Tweeterdom is that Mr. Kaufman gives sincere thanks to
among others: Eugene Hunn and Dennis Paulson for specific help on sections
of the book. The book has great sections on Gulls, shorebirds and
Empids.... I highly recommend it for those wishing to learn advanced ID
skills.

Cheers,

Rob Conway
Newcastle, WA

robin_birder at hotmail.com





>From: sgmlod at aol.com
>To: Tweeters at u.washington.edu
>Subject: [Tweeters] Ridgefield Heron
>Date: Wed, 06 Sep 2006 21:26:02 -0400
>
>Greetings All
>
>This bird, structurally, looks like a Little Blue. The great amount of
>yellow on the lores is a bit concerning for LBHE though. I'd think Snowies
>should have some dark on the legs (other than mud) this time of year, but I
>don't know. In theory, LBHE should have some dusky visible on the primary
>tips, which is not visible in Wilson's nice shot.
>
>Guy McCaskie's comment is that he'd have trouble calling the bird a Little
>Blue. He did not say, however, that he'd identify it as a Snowy.
>
>I've put a query out on Frontiers of ID, and we should get a variety of
>opinions therefrom.
>
>Cheers
>Steven Mlodinow
>Everett WA
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