These strays probably make the crossing from West Africa to the Caribbean, and then migrate north on our side of the Atlantic. Thread starter George Edwards; Start date Jan 1, 2009; George Edwards Nom de plume. The snowy egret is the American counterpart to the very similar Old World little egret, which has become established in the Bahamas.At one time, the plumes of the snowy egret were in great demand as decorations for women's hats. The Little Egret has a slightly lankier appearance, mostly being a little longer necked. I’m frequently asked for help with bird identification via email, private messages, in the field and I also belong to several bird identification groups of Facebook where I enjoy helping people figure out what birds they are seeing and sharing. They were hunted for these plumes and this reduced the population of the species to dangerously low levels. Snowy Egrets are rather small as far as waders go, standing about 24 inches tall. Little vs Snowy Egret? The species was slaughtered for its plumes in the 19th century, but protection brought a rapid recovery of numbers, and the Snowy Egret is now more widespread and common than ever. Jan 1, 2009 #1 Would someone please be able to give me a few pointers to distinguish the little egret from the snowy egret? A beautiful, graceful small egret, very active in its feeding behavior in shallow waters. Known by its contrasting yellow feet, could be said to dance in the shallows on golden slippers. In the case of the Snowy and Little Egret; the Little Egret is usually slightly larger in size, by an average of 6 centimeters. In the winter it’s most common in southern Florida and Louisiana. 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. Since 1980 it has been recorded several times along our Atlantic Coast during the warmer months. Immature little blue herons and snowy egrets closely resemble one another, except that snowy egrets have yellow feet and showy plumes. The average weight of a Little Egret is also generally about 100 grams more than the Snowy Egret. The Little Egret has black legs and yellow-soled feet. From a distance, however, or without a size reference they can easily be confused with a Great Egret… The Little Egret is about 65 centimetres (26 inches) tall, with a wingspan up to 106 centimetres (42 inches). The Intermediate Egret is about 72 centimetres (28 inches) tall, with a wingspan up to 115 centimetres (45 inches). Occurs in most southern areas all year. A Little Egret’s bill is also slightly longer and more dagger-like than a Snowy’s (more like a Tricolored Heron). The Intermediate Egret and the Great Egret have black legs and feet. Snowy Egret Classification: Egretta thula Common names: Snowy Egret, Common Egret, Lesser Egret, Little Snowy Habitat and Distribution: Inhabits shores of lakes or ponds, marshes, swamps, mud flats, and tidal shallows. The snowy egret has also been known as the lesser egret, little egret, little snowy, little white egret and little white heron. 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. Also, the feet on this individual are a greenish-yellow color, unlike the bright golden-yellow we see on our Snowy … The first three pics are from Santa Catarina, Brazil, April (so autumn). In 1964, a hybrid snowy egret-little blue heron was reported in Florida. Snowy Egret – Great Egret size comparison – Nikon D200, handheld, f7.1, 1/1000, ISO 160, Nikkor 80-400mm VR at 360mm, natural light. This Old World counterpart to our Snowy Egret was formerly only an accidental visitor to North America, with only one record before 1980.