Is It a Heron or an Egret?

Accurate ID is the Ideal

By Kenneth R. McVay

When you’re out photographing wildlife, especially in its native habitat, it is advisable to be able to identify the subject for a variety of reasons, but not absolutely critical. When you’re submitting and publishing your photographs, it is crucial to correctly identify the subject. Why the distinction?

When you’re out there taking photographs, your concentration is centered on capturing the subject. Having general knowledge of the species will help facilitate your approach to the subject. You will be able to predict their behavior in general and know what to look for before getting down to the business at hand. It can make the difference between watching an egret standing still in the surf and wondering if it is fishing for dinner and knowing it is because it’s head is tilted to one side. The difference becomes critical depending on whether you want a static or dynamic image. However, knowing about that behavior before hand is not critical to the quality of the image, nor to the quantity of images of you will probably take. Somewhere along the way, you will most likely get the chance of photographing that egret fishing for dinner. Whether or not the egret is reddish in color or is actually a tri-colored heron with similar coloring is not going to affect your decision to photograph it (unless you are on assignment and supposed to be taking photographs of a specific species). Your goal is going to be taking the best photograph of the subject, regardless of what it is. At this point, absolute identification is not always necessary.

The story changes, however, when you are writing an article or submitting a photograph for publication. Then it becomes vitally important to be accurate in identification and that requires more than just knowing that it’s a reddish egret or a tri-colored heron. You must also be able to establish if it is a juvenile or in mating plumage or a first year non-breeder, or in winter plumage, or . . . And the list goes on, but I’m sure you get the drift. The big question is, where do you find this kind of information?

Fortunately, there are a number of field guides and identification books on today’s market. Unfortunately, no one single book is going to provide you with everything you need. For identification purposes, the National Audubon Society: the SIBLEY Guide to Birds written and illustrated by David Allen Sibley is the best. For behavior and breeding information, The Audubon Society Field Guide to North American Birds written by Miklos D. F. Udvardy, California State University and Susan Rayfield, Associate Editor of Audubon magazine. There are also a number of books written about birds associated with specific states that are written for the general public.

Sibley’s provides the photographer with numerous color illustrations of birds found throughout North America. He classifies birds and instructs the reader on how to identify a bird using bird song and bird calls, head feathers, body feathers, wing feathers, molting and plumage, bills, legs, and basic body shapes. He outlines and identifies the body parts of passerines, shorebirds, ducks, and gulls. Each illustration includes a map that is color coded to show when and where the bird can normally be found. Species are broken down into groups and every bird has it’s own page for specifics. What makes this book the best for identification is the color illustrations of the birds in various states of plumage and their appearance at different ages. Of additional importance, are the illustrations of wing span and motion when flying. A large majority of bird identification guides show one or two photographs of adult birds at rest. Sibley illustrates and identifies changes in key features based on the age of the bird, it’s geographic location, and seasonal plumage where appropriate. This guide is a must for the serious wildlife photographer planning on including birds in his or her portfolio, but it’s not enough by itself because it doesn’t discuss the behavior of the individual birds or their specific nesting preferences. For that you need the Audubon guide.

Aududon’s field guides are excellent for learning about the behavior of various types of wildlife. They have produced a variety of field guides that make understanding and predicting, in general, the behavior of your subject much easier. With these guides, a photographer can plan a trip and increase the chances for success in locating the desired subject in an environment that is conducive to excellent light and relatively easy access. These guides also provide at least one photograph of each subject as an adult. There are two bird guides, one for the eastern region and one for the western region (it’s a good idea to own both). Photographs are grouped together at the front of the book with a page reference for the back of the book where habits and habitats are discussed. Information in the back of the book is specific to each bird and includes a physical description, the range, nesting habits, what the voice sounds like, and shows a black and white map illustrating their range. Both books note where other types of birds share certain similarities and can be mistaken for each other.

McGraw Hill publishes An Audubon Handbook, Eastern Birds (there is also a western edition). It also displays one to four photographs per bird, lists field marks, describes the range, describes their call or song, and lists similar species. Information on behavior or breeding and nesting is terse and to the point. Either of the Audubon guides is easily accommodated in a camera bag for immediate spot identification in general. The biggest drawback is not having anything more than a verbal description of juvenile plumage, female versus male plumage, female versus male physical differences, breeding plumage versus nonbreeding plumage, and differences based geographical location.

It soon becomes apparent that multiple field guides are a necessity rather than an luxury. One type of guide is used for planning and quick identification while another is necessary to determine, beyond a doubt, the age and species of the bird. Both, or all, of the guides can be used as a cross reference to identify the photographic subject. With references of this nature, there is no reason for a wildlife photographer to ever mis-identify the subject. It is not necessary to carry any of the guides with you as you are taking photographs, but it is helpful to have them handy back at the car and to use them in the planning stages. However, they are is crucial when cataloging and submitting photographs for publication. Before you are done, you will find you have amassed a small library of wildlife and nature information that would make anyone with a like interest green with envy.