Tony Bailey sought the identification of a strange Egret he saw and
photographed at Coombabah Swamp on the Gold Coast on 11 August. The bird
resembled a cross between a White-faced Heron and a Little Egret as it had
mainly white underparts but with grey on the head, neck and upperparts. I
suggested to him that it was a dark morph Little Egret. He returned to the
site today and by comparison with a typical Little Egret confirmed that
identity and obtained more photos. I have placed one photo on the Eremaea
Birds Australia's Birdline for Central & Southern Queensland.
Although this variable dark colour morph is known from Asia, (it is
illustrated in the 2005 edition of Viney, Phillipps & Ying, Birds of Hong
Kong & Southern China), I am not aware of any previous reports from
Australia. It seems probable that this particular mutant originated in
Australia rather than Asia. It is also atypical in that its legs are yellow
rather than black. It may be more than coincidence that a somewhat similar
looking strange Little Egret/White-faced Heron was recently photographed at
Parry's Lagoon near Wyndham in WA. The ID of that bird is being debated.
Mike Carter
30 Canadian Bay Road
Mount Eliza VIC 3930
Tel (03) 9787 7136
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