Reddish Egret

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Fort De Soto, Florida.

Doing what Reddish Egrets do best … you could tell what bird this was even at a distance, in the dim light before the sun came up: scampering back and forth through and over the shallow water of a salt lagoon, dancing, spreading wings in a wide, shadow-throwing tent; pausing theatrically, a split second only; then off again in a whirlwind … The Reddish Egret’s theatre is deliberate, and utilitarian: it may delight a human audience, but it is terror for the fishes, who panic, and rise, and bunch in response to the bird’s commotion, or swim toward the deceptive shade of those wings. And of course, a prospective mate may also be watching, thinking “now there’s a good bread/fish-winner.”

Note the patches of white leucism on the wings.