Sheepish Egret!

This is actually a Cattle Egret (Bubulcus ibis; Héron garde-boeuf in French) blipped an hour ago near our gîte in the Camargue.

Cattle egrets originated in Africa, and over the past few decades have spread to Europe and the Americas. They are most often found around (and on!) a range of four-legged farm animals, including horses, feeding on associated insects and such. Here the modest orange cap on the bird signifies breeding plumage, which can be much more vivid. In the Camargue they show to best advantage on the region's white horses (I'll try to find that during this week.)

Before breakfast I backblipped a pair of white storks from yesterday.