The juvenile white ibis above was patrolling the shallows of a drawn down Lake Rodman last weekend.
When he's mature, he'll be a glistening white bird.
Here is a glistening white bird, a juvenile little blue heron.
When he's mature, he'll be a slate blue bird.
I can see the advantage of brown colors as in the young ibis as it is good camo for an inexperienced juvenile while he matures.
I'm not so sure of the survival advantage offered by the white feathers of the little blue.
Very pretty though.
Look at their beaks.
These two were feeding side by side, but NOT competing for food.
6 comments:
I envy your wonderful waterfowl. Can't imagine why a bird would want to be white as a baby either, but there must be something...
Stokes bird guide said that they often follow other birds and catch prey that they had stirred up. No comment on the coloring though. Love the herons when they are getting older and they have both the white and blue. So cute.
I love what I learn here!! We are heading out today on a 'photo field trip'...hope I capture some awesome shots of this beautiful area we live in.
PS I just noticed your Bedtime Reads on the sidebar...will you let us know how the Koontz book went??? On another note...can't wait to read the results of your reading 'writing a novel'...you are a natural born writer...or is that natural born nature writer.....you do tell some great stories along the way ;)
I always wondered at the effectiveness of the white coloring too, until I was fishing amongst the mangroves along Pine Island Sound a few weeks ago.
There were a large number of herons working the edges of the mangroves. But unless I was really paying attention, I couldn't see them as they weaved through the tangles of roots and branches; they blended in with the sun-dappled mangroves perfectly.
3C,
I think CLJ below hit upon a good explanation. I envy you your wild ducks and geese populations.
Dani,
That makes sense. I like the way real snowy egrets use their feet to scare little critters out from cover.
Danielle,
I hope you were successful! The Koontz story was not his best. Sappy ending, even for Koontz.
Maybe I'm too used to his formula.
CLJ,
I think you are spot on.
Thanks for that insight!
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