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Ardea herodias
Their plumage is gray with dark blue flight feathers, red-brown thighs, and a paired red-brown and black stripe up the flanks. The neck is gray, with black and white streaking down the front. The head is paler, with a nearly white face, and a pair of dark blue plumes running from just above the eye to the back of the head. The feathers on the lower neck are long and plume-like. It also has plumes on the lower back at the start of the breeding season. The bill is dull yellowish, becoming orange briefly at the start of the breeding season, and the lower legs are gray, also becoming orange at the start of the breeding season.
Morro Bay, CA.
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