Gallery: Snowy Egret Portrait

From the Summer 2020 issue of Living Bird magazine. Subscribe now.

When creating my work, I use classical and contemporary tools to create visual narratives. This piece depicts the elaborate greeting ritual of the Snowy Egret during the mating season, which I photographed in St. Augustine, Florida.

In breeding plumage, the physical appearance of Snowy Egrets changes dramatically. They develop long, curved plumes called aigrettes on their back, neck, and breast. The lore region between the eye and beak also changes color to red, and so do their feet.