CATTLE EGRET GALLERY
(Bubulcus ibis)

eBird offers this description of the Cattle Egret:  Small, compact white heron with stout yellow bill. Often seen on dry land. Legs red or yellow during the breeding season, black during nonbreeding season. Breeding birds in Europe, Africa, and the Americas (sometimes regarded as a separate species) have reddish-pink bills and creamy patches on body; Asian and Australasian breeders are yellow-billed with extensive orangish plumage on the head and neck. Often feeds by following cattle or tractors in fields.

I saw my first Cattle Egret in High Island Texas, on the morning of August 28, 2020.  A number of them were wandering around in the neighborhood near the Smith Oaks Bird Sanctuary.  I could tell they were very small compared to the Great Egret, or Snowy Egret, but it was the creamy brown patches that really stood out.