Sorry, your blog cannot share posts by email. Snowy Egrets are smaller with a more slender bill than Great Egrets. The lores, the space between the bill and the forward edges of the eyes, are yellow during the nonbreeding season and during the breeding season their lores become a bright lime green, I’ve even seen the lores look almost turquoise blue so there is some color variation of their lores. Great series of shots. Great white egret is more than 90 centimetres long with a wingspan that extends two metres, and their body weight could go as high as one kilogram, more often. , Thanks for this lovely lesson. The lores of Snowy Egrets during the nonbreeding season are a bright lemony yellow, during the breeding season their lores become pink to salmon colored. Post was not sent - check your email addresses! The Great Egret (Casmerodius albus / Ardea alba) is a large egret with a global distribution. Great Egrets are larger than Snowy Egrets by about 15 inches, Great Egrets are approximately 39 inches in length compared to Snowy Egrets at 24 inches, Great Egrets are about 1.9 pounds where Snowy Egrets weigh in at about 13 ounces. Such great shots too. Great Egret trying to eat a Mullet – Nikon D200, handheld, f7.1, 1/1000, ISO 160, Nikkor 80-400mm VR at 310mm, natural light. I didn’t fealize that the differences between these two birds were so many or so striking…this posting was very informative and very interesting…plus great shots of the birds, too. Great Egrets are larger than Snowy Egrets by about 15 inches, Great Egrets are approximately 39 inches in length compared to Snowy Egrets at 24 inches, Great Egrets are about 1.9 pounds where Snowy Egrets weigh in at about 13 ounces. In this article, I am going to talk about Snowy Egret vs little blue heron, vs little egret, vs great egret… Snowy Egrets have long dark legs which can have some yellow and grays in the length of them, their feet are yellow and are often called “Golden Slippers”, the feet of Great Egrets do not show yellow at all. Snowy Heron, or White Egret. Bill and feet color are the keys to separate them. Gnatcatchers, Kinglets, Dippers and Others, Mockingbirds, Thrashers, Catbirds, Starlings and Pipits, Waxwings, Longspurs and Silky-Flycatchers. Snowies have a black bill and yellow feet, whereas Great Egrets have a yellow bill and black feet. Please do not share my images on Pinterest, Tumblr or other image sharing sites. During the breeding season Great Egrets develop long plumes that are visible on their backs and over their tails but not on their heads. Also during the breeding season Snowy Egrets develop lacy plumes on their scapulars and unlike Great Egrets they also develop lacy plumage on their necks and heads which then appear to be crests. Quite often I see confusion about whether a large white wading bird is a Great Egret or a Snowy Egret so this morning I thought I’d share some Great and Snowy Egrets I took precisely nine years ago today that might help with size and appearance differences of these two wading birds. This beautiful species is a constant resident in Florida and Louisiana, where thousands are seen during winter, and where many remain during the breeding season. Thank you. Range: The snowy egret occurs from the United States and southern Canada, south through Central America, the West Indies, South America, and Argentina. American bison have always held a…, It would be nice to have both golden eye and mergansers around…. In eastern North America, snowy egrets winter along the Gulf Coast and in Florida, as well as north along the Atlantic Coast to New Jersey. The snowy egret, scientific name Egretta thula is a small white heron. Of course you're not, you are only a casual consumer of bird knowledge. I knew the Snowy Egrets were smaller but didn’t realize how much smaller than the Great Egrets. Copyright Mia McPherson | All Rights Reserved. Really interesting — thanks, Mia! Great Egrets have long black legs and feet. A Great Egret has a yellow bill and black legs. Love the comparison between the two egrets; the images are terrific. Snowy Egret – Great Egret size comparison – Nikon D200, handheld, f7.1, 1/1000, ISO 160, Nikkor 80-400mm VR at 360mm, natural light. Only head plumes provide a clear and objective distinction between the species, other features are more subtle, variable and overlapping. Of course you don't. Meanwhile, the body length of little egret is around 60 centimetres with a wingspan of about a metre, and the body weight lies between 300 grams. There are some other differences between Great and Snowy Egrets in appearance of course but I think the comparisons I have written about are the most helpful for me in the field for identification and may be for other people too.