Fancy Feet

Snowy egret feet (photo by Chuck Tague)

Monday’s blog about identifying white wading birds got me thinking about snowy egrets’ black legs and fancy yellow feet.  Wow!

Are there other birds in North America whose legs and feet are different colors?

The immature blackpoll warbler has them.  Adult blackpolls have bright orange-yellow legs and feet but the youngsters have black legs.  Their contrasting feet are a good identification tip during fall migration.  This one is wearing orange slippers.
Immature Blackpoll warbler (photo by Marcy Cunkelman)

 

Beyond the blackpoll I was stumped.  I searched my field guide page by page and discovered that golden-crowned kinglets have dark legs and pale yellow feet.  Who knew?  I never looked at their feet before.
Golden-crowned kinglet (photo by Shawn Collins)

 

Do any other North American birds have fancy feet?  I don’t think so, but maybe you know of one.

In the meantime I’ll leave you with this thought …

Have you ever seen a Eurasian Coot?
Eurasian coot (photo from Wikimedia Commons)

 

(photo credits:  Snowy egret feet by Chuck Tague, immature blackpoll warbler by Marcy Cunkelman, golden-crowned kinglet by Shawn Collins, Eurasian coot from Wikimedia Commons)

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