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Archive 2013 · Reddish Cattle Egret (3)

  
 
Shasoc
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p.1 #1 · p.1 #1 · Reddish Cattle Egret (3)


As I was shooting this bird from a distance (these are heavy crops) I kept thinking: “What I’m shooting?” At first I thought it was a Roseate Spoonbill, but I soon realized it was too small to be a Roseate. Only when I looked closer on my camera display I realized it was a Cattle Egret that somehow got dirty with some reddish clay
Later I remembered I had seen another one similar a couple of years before, so I decided to do some research and found that a similar colored Cattle Egret was photographed perched at the Gator Farm in Saint Augustine Florida, 27 April 2012. This one seems to have some problems with its right leg.


For those that are interested this is what was reported by David Sibley on the net:
To understand this bird’s coloration, it’s important to understand the unusual source of the buff color in Cattle Egrets. Evidence suggests that the buff color of Cattle Egrets is essentially a stain, coming from pigmented oil from specialized powder-down feathers. When a Cattle Egret molts in late summer the new feathers are all-white, and they slowly turn buff in winter and spring without molting. I will speculate that this bird is over-producing the oils from powder-down, and coloring the whole plumage. The darker color on the wing coverts could be the result of the pigmented oil interacting with differently-textured feathers there. Obviously there is a lot more to learn about Cattle Egrets and the details of their coloration. If this individual can be re-found and photographed at different seasons or in subsequent years that might offer some clues, and looking for similar anomalies in other Cattle Egrets could add important clues.
BTW an illustration of this bird can be found at the bottom of page 64 of the Sibley Guide.
Socrate

















Jul 30, 2013 at 08:21 PM
morris
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p.1 #2 · p.1 #2 · Reddish Cattle Egret (3)


That's just a sunburn Socrate. That is what happens when you are out side in the Florida sun!

Great captures

Morris



Jul 30, 2013 at 09:00 PM
Shasoc
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p.1 #3 · p.1 #3 · Reddish Cattle Egret (3)


morris wrote:
That's just a sunburn Socrate. That is what happens when you are out side in the Florida sun!

Great captures

Morris





Thanks, Morris. I guess all the other CEs must use Sunblock Lotion
Socrate



Jul 30, 2013 at 09:16 PM
Zagnut103
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p.1 #4 · p.1 #4 · Reddish Cattle Egret (3)


COOL! Thanks for introducing me to this species Socrate. Great info. Never seen one before. Thanks for sharing.
Sergio



Jul 30, 2013 at 09:31 PM
birdied
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p.1 #5 · p.1 #5 · Reddish Cattle Egret (3)


Very nice Socrate. I have not seen one with that much coloration in the wings .

Birdie



Jul 30, 2013 at 09:44 PM
canon.eos30d
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p.1 #6 · p.1 #6 · Reddish Cattle Egret (3)


Nice found, Socrate.

- Tam



Jul 30, 2013 at 10:12 PM
brian_sp
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p.1 #7 · p.1 #7 · Reddish Cattle Egret (3)


beautiful captures especially for being from a distance


Jul 30, 2013 at 10:18 PM
kmunroe
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p.1 #8 · p.1 #8 · Reddish Cattle Egret (3)


interesting stuff Socrate.. nicely done


Jul 31, 2013 at 02:17 AM
surfnron
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p.1 #9 · p.1 #9 · Reddish Cattle Egret (3)


And I thought the color came from getting too close to the back end of the cattle... Great shots of an unusual bird Socrate ~ Ron


Jul 31, 2013 at 06:11 AM
KCollett
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p.1 #10 · p.1 #10 · Reddish Cattle Egret (3)


Cool information Socrate. You managed some good results despite having to crop. Thank you.


Jul 31, 2013 at 07:02 AM
Tim Kuhn
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p.1 #11 · p.1 #11 · Reddish Cattle Egret (3)


Maybe he visited my neck of the woods and got rusty!

Very interesting Socrate, I have wondered why some have more color than others but that was always to a far lesser degree than this guy. Great information, it's 6:30 am and I've already learned something, maybe I can go back to bed! Nice shots of this guy, they support they information marvelously.

Tim



Jul 31, 2013 at 08:31 AM
BeeBalm
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p.1 #12 · p.1 #12 · Reddish Cattle Egret (3)


Socrate,
Nice captures and story!
TFS
BeeBalm



Jul 31, 2013 at 08:36 AM
Plinian
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p.1 #13 · p.1 #13 · Reddish Cattle Egret (3)


An striking set of images, Socrate, accompanied by a thoughtful discussion. I have a special interest in animal color variation, and spent some time comparing your image to the ones featured by Sibley. (That one is really reddish, and includes the mandible and lores as well as the feathers). Given the effects on the featherless areas it's not clear why Sibley invoked oil production...I wonder if it might not be the same sort of genetic variation that accounts for reddish hues in spoonies or the red egret (perhaps affecting carotene metabolism). Either way, TFS! ~Greg


Jul 31, 2013 at 09:03 AM
Shasoc
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p.1 #14 · p.1 #14 · Reddish Cattle Egret (3)


Plinian wrote:
An striking set of images, Socrate, accompanied by a thoughtful discussion. I have a special interest in animal color variation, and spent some time comparing your image to the ones featured by Sibley. (That one is really reddish, and includes the mandible and lores as well as the feathers). Given the effects on the featherless areas it's not clear why Sibley invoked oil production...I wonder if it might not be the same sort of genetic variation that accounts for reddish hues in spoonies or the red egret (perhaps affecting carotene metabolism). Either way, TFS! ~Greg





Thank you, Greg. Glad you found these interesting. I posted these images more with a documentary intent, rather than artistic
Here is the whole article I found on the net with pics of the unusual colored Egret. At the bottom page there is a "Related posts and pages" with some interesting reading:

http://www.sibleyguides.com/2012/05/an-unusual-cattle-egret-in-florida/

Socrate



Jul 31, 2013 at 01:30 PM
sdgnh
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p.1 #15 · p.1 #15 · Reddish Cattle Egret (3)


Beautiful images Socrate. That is interesting info on the coloring too.
Nancy



Jul 31, 2013 at 01:52 PM
waldr_p
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p.1 #16 · p.1 #16 · Reddish Cattle Egret (3)


Interesting set Socrate - nice images as well as an informative post.

Paul



Jul 31, 2013 at 03:22 PM
David Leask
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p.1 #17 · p.1 #17 · Reddish Cattle Egret (3)


Great shots and informative text Socrate, thanks for both
David



Aug 01, 2013 at 01:15 PM
thomas_1950
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p.1 #18 · p.1 #18 · Reddish Cattle Egret (3)


A most Interesting / unusual CAEG Socrate. Thanks for the information and pictures regarding this guy.

Best,
Tom



Aug 03, 2013 at 03:43 AM
Charlie Shugart
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p.1 #19 · p.1 #19 · Reddish Cattle Egret (3)


Excellent shooting, Socrate, and some interesting information and ideas expressed also.
A human lifetime is but an eye-blink in terms of animal evolution. And we are a thoughtful and imaginative species as well.
That said- and me being miles from expert on such things- there must be countless "mistakes" such as your photographs so dramatically show. If such differences occur often enough and benefit successful breeding- perhaps in a few million years this kind of "rust-stain" coloration will be the norm for cattle egrets.
And all-white feathers will be an oddity.
Charlie



Aug 03, 2013 at 03:54 PM





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