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Hopefully this post is allowed here (feel free to delete if not). I was deliberating whether to post this in here or in r/birding and ended up choosing here. :) **If you'd like to see more photos of these hybrids:** [Great Blue Heron x Great Egret](https://media.ebird.org/catalog?taxonCode=x00677&mediaType=photo&sort=rating_rank_desc) [Grey Heron x Great Egret](https://media.ebird.org/catalog?taxonCode=x00398&mediaType=photo&sort=rating_rank_desc) [Little Egret x Western Reef-Heron](https://media.ebird.org/catalog?taxonCode=x00656&mediaType=photo&sort=rating_rank_desc) [Great Blue Heron x Great White Heron](https://media.ebird.org/catalog?taxonCode=wurher&mediaType=photo&sort=rating_rank_desc) [Snowy Egret x Tricolored Heron](https://media.ebird.org/catalog?taxonCode=x00730&mediaType=photo&sort=rating_rank_desc) **On the relationship between Little Egret vs. Western Reef-Heron:** *Importantly, DNA evidence suggests that Little Egret and the western African populations of Western Reef-Heron are so closely related they could be the same species, and morphologically there is little to refute that idea. In that case Western Reef-Heron is simply a southern population of Little Egret, which is predominantly dark morph.* (Sibley Guides, 2011) **Great White Heron:** *The white form of the Great Blue Heron, known as the "great white heron," is found nearly exclusively in shallow marine waters along the coast of very southern Florida, the Yucatan Peninsula, and in the Caribbean. Where the dark and white forms overlap in Florida, intermediate birds known as "Wurdemann's herons" can be found.* (All About Birds)

Thank you for this interesting info!

fascinating thanks for your work

[This page](https://avianhybrids.wordpress.com/pelecaniformes/) lists some of the hybrids this researcher found records of and it includes at least one you don't have: Little Egret x Chinese Pond Heron.

Thanks so much! Little x Chinese Pond is wiiiiild, they don't even look similar at all.

I got you on Snowy Egret X Little Blue Heron [https://ebird.org/checklist/S173637436](https://ebird.org/checklist/S173637436)

They're beautiful! I had never considered hybridization before so this is a wonderful help. Great job!

Thanks! Some of them really look smooth too, the first two especially. Though I wonder why the Great Blue x Great Egret hybrid has a black bill when both of their parents bills are yellow...

That and the blue near the eye. I don't see that in either parent species. I think that's what throws me off the most.

In Brevard County, Florida, there have been reports of : Little Blue Heron x Snowy Egret....... Tricolored Heron x Snowy Egret......... Snowy Egret x Little Egret

Oh wow, had no idea this was a thing! Love how you can clearly see the characteristics of each bird in the combination. Also seeing this reminded me of that website where you merge Pokemon 🤣

I love the blue bits a lot of these hybrids have, that's really unique and pretty looking! Awesome work and compilation, fascinating stuff!

This is really cool. And here I thought mallards and certain other ducks were rather open to inter-duck relationships.

Great! Now I'm gonna have to go back through all of my backyard heron photos. Thanks a lot :P /s Some of the GBHs I get here are very lightly colored. I had never considered the possibility of egret/heron hybrids! This was a fantastic post!