Little and Large

How do you tell your Egrets apart?

if its got yellow feet, and a black beak, its probably a Little Egret. Also, in breeding season it has a distinct "plume" that sticks out of the back of the head, as seen above. This almost caused their extinction, as these feathers were so sought after for hats in Europe and the USA (in fact this was one of the main reasons the RSPB was set up in the UK).

This lovely fellow with a small fish is a Great Egret. Bigger, with an extra kink in the neck, and black feet, and with a yellow bill (unless its breeding season and then it has a black bill! OMG, why do they make it so complicated.....).

all clear? well, what about the cattle egret? or the Intermediate Egret? nooooo....enough for now.