Cattle Egret

This smallest of Bonaire’s big white birds gives a compact shape because it has relatively short legs, and a short neck, both of which are beneficial since it forages on land.  The bill is also rather short when compared with other herons or egrets; it’s just a bit longer than the length of the head.

It’s interesting to note that the Cattle Egret is the only species in its genus in the world, and the only North American egret or heron in which the color of the plumage changes seasonally.

In normal adult plumage, it sports all-white plumage and a yellow bill and its legs and feet are dark. However, breeding birds have orange feathers on their crown, their back, and the front of their neck, and the bill can also turn more orange and the legs more yellow when the bird is in breeding plumage, as illustrated here.

This resident is common in or around water. It has white, fine plumage with a black bill, black legs, and bright yellow feet. In water, it usually moves around often and quickly, using its yellow feet to stir up prey, and it is often called “the lady with the golden slippers.”

The impression of the Snowy Egret is of a slender, medium-sized bird. It is equally at home in fresh, brackish, or saltwater, so it can be observed in many locations around Bonaire and can be found in the company of Great Egrets and other herons as well.

Observers can use the behavior of Snowy Egrets for help in identification.  They often will be seen to be in animated pursuits after their prey, but the bird can also hold still in crouching vigils with its neck coiled and ready to strike, stabbing its prey with its straight bill when a fish dares to get close.

Snowy Egrets nearly always show a black or blackish bill with yellow lores. However, here on Bonaire, we can observe Snowy Egrets in breeding plumage, when the lores and their feet turn a bright red and they develop wispy plumes of snow-white feathers along their body and back.

One would think that a bird called the Little Blue Heron would be, well, blue.  And the adult Little Blue Heron is indeed a gray-blue with a reddish head and neck.  However, when young, first-year birds have stark white plumage.  They can usually be identified from other big white birds by their greenish-colored legs and their two-toned blue-and-black bill.  Here on Bonaire, we can observe the Little Blue Heron in all three plumages:  the first-year birds in their white plumage, molting birds, called “calicos,” that are replacing their white feathers with adult-colored blue feathers, and full adult Little Blue Herons with the gray-blue body and reddish heads and necks.

The Reddish Egret can be observed in two colorations:  the “dark morph” presents a gray-blue body with a reddish head and neck, while the “white morph” presents an entirely white body.

Both adult colorations can be easily identified by the long, two-toned bill, which will be pink at the base and black at the tip.  Note that juveniles and immature Reddish Egrets will display other colors in the bills.

The adult white morph of the Reddish Egret can be also identified by the shaggy, white “mane” of plumage on the head and neck, which will differentiate it from the slightly smaller-sized Snowy Egret or immature Little Blue Heron.

Also, be sure to check out the color of the legs.  Adult Reddish Egrets of both colorations display dusky blue legs and feet.

The behavior of the Reddish Egret when foraging is quite distinctive and is an easy identifier of the species.  The Reddish Egret will often dance around, moving quickly, hopping back and forth, and running in spurts or spinning around, as it forages in the water for fish and small invertebrates.  Often, the Reddish Egret will spread its wings out, to create shade and attract its prey.

The Great Egret is second in size only to the Great White Heron (pictured below).

The Great Egret is consistent in its appearance across all ages. It is easily identified by the combination of its large size, black legs, and stout orange-yellow bill, but some can display a black-tipped bill. The Great Egret moves with a thoughtful deliberateness, frequently foraging with its bill held horizontal, or even tilted up to the sky, until it plunges its head into the water to spear a fish.

Great Egrets can be found in either saltwater or freshwater or in attendance with other herons or egrets, especially the Snowy Egret.  Occasionally they can be found to prefer drier pastoral habitats and on Bonaire, can even be observed foraging along the grassy side of a road.

As adults, Great Egrets lack head plumes. Instead, during their breeding season, the lores become rich green, and the long back (scapular) plumes become evident and can be a buffy or brownish color.  Nonbreeding Great Egrets are similar, but the lores are a duskier color of yellow and the legs are less richly black.

Since my early birding days, I affectionately dubbed the white morph of the Great Blue Heron as “Big Bird.”  However, the name from the famed Sesame Street children’s television show does not do justice to this statuesque, sleek, and elegantly plumaged heron with an extremely long neck and legs.

In North American taxonomy, when in its white morph, this bird is considered a subspecies of the Great Blue Heron and is commonly referred to as the Great White Heron.  Other taxonomists argue it is a separate species.  No matter how the bird is classified, it is still a stunning bird to encounter, especially since it is considered very rare to be observed so far south of Cuba, which is normally its southern-most range.  To find it on Bonaire is truly a treat!

This heron uses its long and thick, two-toned dagger-like bill to stab at fish, frogs, or large insects, all the while wading gracefully along the intertidal zone of the shoreline.  Its legs are a dull yellow and the lores by the eyes can be grayish-blue.

So now you’ll be equipped with the knowledge to identify every big white bird you encounter on Bonaire.  I hope you enjoy your birding adventures on the island!