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Cattle egrets are a worldwide success story. Although native to Africa and Eurasia, they invaded South America during the last century and have since spread rapidly northwards and now occupy much of North America. I photographed most of these birds at a small breeding colony in some planted African thorn trees at the San Diego Safari Park, near Escondido, California. The pure white bird with its mouth open (near bottom, right) is a nearly-fledged chick; the others are adults in various stages of breeding plumage. The birds immediately below were wintering in the Imperial Valley of extreme southeastern California. |
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