Pages

Sunday, February 23, 2014

Immature Little Blue Heron

When we saw this white bird with the green legs in Florida last month, we had no idea what it was. My blogging friend, Gail, from Louisiana Belle, helped me to identify it as an immature Little Blue Heron. It seems that this species of heron is the only one in which first-year birds show dramatically different coloration from adults. First-year birds are pure white, while adults are blue.









15 comments:

  1. Hi Linda. it is a very a very elegant Heron and you got great shots of it.

    ReplyDelete
  2. beautiful birdie. nice shots, Linda!! ( :

    ReplyDelete
  3. you're just KILLING me! :) beautiful!

    ReplyDelete
  4. He's beautiful! Love how his green legs blend right in with those green leaves.

    ReplyDelete
  5. That water was so clear. There is a morph with the great blue herons that is white and makes them look like an egret. Don't know much about the little blues, but they are gorgeous.

    ReplyDelete
  6. Ha! I'll have to go back and see how many I've shot without realizing they were egrets. :O)

    ReplyDelete
  7. It is still beautiful,but I guess would be very easy to identify wrongly.

    ReplyDelete
  8. Beautiful pics Linda of this little bird...personally I think they should stay white and never grow up. Then we could rename them 'Peter Pan' :)

    ReplyDelete
  9. Oh, this youngster is adorable with those green legs and white feathers. I knew nothing about the color difference between the younger and older ones and loved reading about it. Beautiful photos, too. Have a great week!

    ReplyDelete
  10. A very fragile little thing and such great images Linda.

    ReplyDelete
  11. Oh, wow. GREAT shots of this sweet little blue. Seems funny to call him that since he's pure white. I was honored that you asked for ID help and I thank you for the shout-out! Sorry I missed this post yesterday. LOVE these shots. Those green legs are really something else!

    ReplyDelete
  12. Hi Linda! Look at those cute green legs! I don't think I've seen a bird with that color legs before. So cute! You really are 'beholding the beauty' aren't you :)
    Have a good Monday,
    Ceil

    ReplyDelete
  13. It's a beautiful and interesting series, Linda. The green legs look funny but obviously serve their purpose. :)

    ReplyDelete
  14. Now that's a whole different look. I hadn't noticed that the legs were bright green on the adult. I had to go back and take a look.

    ReplyDelete