Sarasota News Leader
May 31, 2013
Page 79
And for tips on how to attract the
Reddish Egret of your dreams,
here are some excellent ones on
pink nail polish, très chic and au
courant. Well, they must be hot if
all three are currently out of stock!
Thus, we are now left with only
two possibilities — the Tricolored
Heron (Egretta tricolor) or the Little Blue Heron (Egretta caerulea).
In breeding season, both birds'
bills are a lovely Maya blue, close
to an azure blue. This Maya blue
pigment was used extensively in
the artwork of pre-Columbian Mesoamerica. Maya blue is highly resistant to degradation. Works created with this color remain bright
after 500 years of exposure to sunlight and rain. This is not true of
these herons' blue bills.
That striking blue will fade and
change after breeding season —
which means that by mid-autumn
you might not be able to recognize
them again!
My guess is the Tricolored Heron.
John James Audubon was very
taken by this bird's beauty and
grace. Now, many of you readers
are not going to plunk yourselves
down with a copy of his Ornithological Biography, so I shall take
a snippet from it so you can see
how, through his poetic prose, he
manages to pack in a wallop-full
of information — from the bird's
The 'Lady of the Waters.' File photo
