Ardea brachyrhyncha
The Yellow-billed Egret was previously considered to be the locally occurring race of the Intermediate Egret but was recently (September 2023) elevated to full species status. It is found over almost all of sub-Saharan Africa and in our country is absent from the arid western and central parts of the country, reflecting its preference for regularly flooded grasslands, wetlands and the shallows of dams, lakes and seasonal pans where they feed on small fish, frogs and aquatic invertebrates. They have been recorded as flying – almost hovering – behind hippos moving through the water to catch anything the large mammal disturbs.
Adult Yellow-billed Egrets weigh around 400g and measure approximately 70cm from bill to tail. They usually hunt alone, but groups of up to 20 may congregate at abundant food sources. During spring and summer they breed in colonies with others of their kind as well as other water birds, forming monogamous pairs that work together to build their platform nest in a tree or reedbed, with the male providing the female with sticks and reeds for the purpose. Clutches of 2 or 3 eggs are incubated in turns by both parents over a 4 week period. While the chicks leave the nest at about 3 weeks old they can’t fly until the age of about 2½ months.
The IUCN considers the Yellow-billed Egret as being of least concern.
DeWetsWild 
Ek sien hulle gereeld in Oos-Londen op die klippe by die Nahoon Rivier waaroor ons so baie ry. Ek is bly om te lees dat hulle nou “full species” status bereik het … ek hoop iemand noem dit ook aan hulle 🙂
Nice shots! Egrets are so enjoyable to watch.
They certainly are, Kathy!
Beautiful shots, DeWets- I especially love the bill! This looks a lot like our Great Egret, though its behavior around the hippos reminds me of our Cattle Egrets’ behavior around cattle in field.
Both the other species you mention occur here as well, Carol, which means I had to triple check these photo’s to ensure I was correct with my ID!
Handsome Egret, and great photos of it.
Thank you very much, Hien
We are inundated with cattle egrets here – also wonderful to watch. They are expressive birds: focusing on their prey, winging through the air, and simply strutting about. I love them.
Most of the egrets and herons are such confident, proud birds. Funny then that others in the family are shy and skulking!
They always remind me of grumpy old men the way they are slouched over looking at everything. So they make the hippos do all the work…?! Funny.
No denying that birds are very clever once we take notice of their strategies!