Bird Watching: DAILY PICS Vol 145, 1 by linthicum

linthicum wrote:
Food for thought ..... Is the Red Sea really red ? Why isn't the Northern Cardinal called "Redbird", instead ? In trying to distinguish between all of the different herons, it is reasonable to call it a 'Green Heron'. It would be more unreasonable to call it a 'Brown Heron' since a few heron species have quite a bit of brown, namely, American Bittern, immature Night Herons, etc. A lot has to do with lighting, time of year, etc.. Here is a photo taken a few years ago at a local lake that displays quite a bit of iridescent green-blue. It has also been called 'Green-backed Heron' by some.