Great Egret (Ardea alba)

Behold, the spectacular Great Egret! I stumbled upon this extraordinary creature on a birdwalk in the San Joaquin Wildlife Sanctuary. A friend later told me that he was stalked by a pair of mountain lions in the same park. I hope this egret keeps an eye out for any fierce feline predators.

How to tell the Great Egret apart from the Snowy Egret I blogged about last week? Look at the beak (black = Snowy, gold = Great) and the feet (black = Great, gold = Snowy). Having trouble remembering that? Try out this rhyme I made to purpose:

Does that it have a black nose?
And little gold toes?
Make a ten dollar bet
That it's a Snowy Egret.
But if you see a gold beak
And two sleek black feet
Then don't even wait
To shout "great! great! great! great! great!"