Heron Cousins Go Fishing
Last May at Washington Valley Park I met bird cousins who were both fishing there (though not together). They were a Great Blue Heron and a Great Egret . They are usually placed in the same genus ( Ardea ); the Great Blue Heron is always placed there, though some ornithologists place the Great Egret with other white-plumaged herons. I'm going with the more mainstream classification where they're in the same genus, which makes them each other's closest relative living in New Jersey . The Great Blue Heron definitely has closer relatives elsewhere. The Grey Heron of Eurasia/North Africa is easily confused with it ... except for that different-parts-of-the-world thing. (If you think you see a Great Blue Heron on your trip to Europe, you're more likely to be seeing a Grey Heron.) They're both also considered very close relatives of Cocoi Heron of South America [1]. The Great Egret is slightly shorter, considerably lighter, and lacks the head plumes of the typical Gre...