Myself and others have previously reported nominate race Little Egrets from
Christmas Island and the Cocos Islands. Although I haven't yet seen the
recently published work, these were mentioned in the draft of Vol 2 of the
Handbook of Western Australian Birds by Johnstone & Storr, which has
appendices on these islands.
That may be not so surprising but of greater interest is that I discovered
one, and George Swann, Arthur & Sheryl Keats, found another at Darwin Sewage
Farm in January this year. These were surrounded by typical Australian
birds. We noted that apart from the wholly yellow feet, the bill and gape
colour were also different. They were more wary than the local birds and may
have been slightly larger. (Arthur & Sheryl, if not still there, how long
did they stay?). I obtained adequate to good photos of both races and intend
(task number 135 on my 'To Do' list, but could be elevated) to write a
short paper on the occurrence. As only a sub-species, does not require a
BARC submission. Maybe Tom Tarrant will post some pics on ABID.
Mike Carter
30 Canadian Bay Road
Mt Eliza VIC 3930
Ph: (03) 9787 7136
Email:
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