Did you find the egret in this morning’s photograph by Jean Greenberg? Here’s the reveal as well as a closeup.
Closeup:
Here’s the egret!
July 31, 2026 • 1:25 pm
Why Evolution is True is a blog written by Jerry Coyne, centered on evolution and biology but also dealing with diverse topics like politics, culture, and cats.
Ooooo I love this one – hidden by the slight color variation from looking up against the sky …
hmmm…
I’d bet the egret can take advantage of that!
Yes!
Comment by Greg Mayer
Do we (or Jean) know what species it is? It looks quite large.
GCM
I’m quite sure it’s a great blue heron. They are 3 – 4 1/2 feet tall, with an even greater wingspan. They are wonderful birds and are found throughout the 48 contiguous states. Like other herons and egrets, they tend to stand very still in the water, waiting for fish to come by. That is the bird I alerted Jerry to a couple of years ago when I saw one in the pond at the same time as some very small ducklings (I was watching the Botany Pond Live Cam). He ran over and, I think, chased it off, because it could have had duckling for lunch. That was probably the first time some ducklings were saved via an email from PA!
It is a Great Egret (Ardea alba). This species of egret is indeed large, much bigger than the two other relatively widespread species of egret in the U.S. (Snowy and Cattle). The range-restricted Reddish Egret, which can be white or dark, is intermediate in size between the two smaller species and Great Egret. Note that the term “egret” just means a white heron and doesn’t have much scientific significance. Great Egret is considered more closely related to Great Blue Heron than to the other egret species.