Cattle Egret Flying

In Albums: birds

A cattle egret in flight, a large white egret with a stout neck, yellow bill, short, rounded wings, and yellow crest

May 25th, 2011, by Alex Zorach

I took this photo of a cattle egret shortly before the beginning of the monthly DNREC heron survey in Delaware City.

This photo clearly shows some of the classic field marks of the cattle egret: the yellow bill with the much shorter, thicker neck (the only other yellow-billed egret is the great egret, with a much longer, thinner neck), and the distinctive yellowish crest.