Great White Heron

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Archibald

Archibald

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Great Blue Heron white morph.

7D_00608 Great White Heron.jpg
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7D_00616 Great White Heron.jpg
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Anjin San said:
I’ve always wondered…are the GBH white morph and the Great White Heron the same bird or different. Dunno…and TBH it really doesn’t matter beyond idle curiosity.
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Different things can be said about that! Sibley (2000) says both are Ardea herodias and calls the white bird just a white morph, but highlights differences other than color. Later, he seems to have changed his mind. See https://www.sibleyguides.com/2007/11/great-white-heron-not-just-a-color-morph/

Browning and Kushlan say the white morph is a separate species, Ardea occidentalis. https://www.heronconservation.org/jhbc/vol07/art01/

eBird calls the white morph Ardea herodias occidentalis implying a subspecies.

For us photographers, it is interesting but it is more important to get a good photo.
 
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