ARDEIDAE - Real: Nycticorax nycticorax, Syrigma sibilatrix,
Casmerodius alba; Null: Ardeola ibis, Butorides striatus, Egretta thula, Ardea cocoi.
I opened the file, and there before me was my bird,
Casmerodius albus, or the great egret.
Interestingly, early drafts of the line read, "Thinking:
casmerodius albus, heron, white" (RPW Papers).
They place the Cattle Egret (previously Bubulcus ibis), Great Egret (previously Egretta or
Casmerodius alba), and Intermediate Egret (previously Egretta intermedia) into genus Ardea.
In the eastern United States, the inner edges of the estuarine shallows are also feeding areas for wading birds, particularly great blue herons, Ardea herodias; green herons, Butorides virescens; great egrets,
Casmerodius albus; and snowy egrets, Egretta thula.