Mangrove / Green Heron

[Yoav]

Hi guys,

Today Ruti Ram found this out-of-range Mangrove Heron at Ma'agan Michael (on the Med coast; normally we have them only at Eilat, with only a handful of records away from Eilat):
http://www.tapuz.co.il/tapuzforum/main/ShowImage.asp?path=1_135369020.jpg&msgid=135369020

I couldn't find a good reference on how to separate the American virescens from the Old World brevipes. This bird seems to have nice green newly moulted coverts, and seems to be more rufous on the ear covers and neck sides than our local birds. However the bill pattern doesn't fit what I found correct for adult virescens.

I will appreciate if anyone could direct me towards such a reference.

Yoav.

[W. Ruskin Butterfield]

Floyd Hayes has written some papers touching on this:
https://elibrary.unm.edu/sora/NAB/v060n03/p00464-p00465.pdf .
http://elibrary.unm.edu/sora/NAB/v056n01/p00004-p00010.pdf .
http://secrb.trinidadbirding.com/idgreenstriatedheron.html .

[Paul Leader]

I would have thought this bird is a first-winter, note the retained juvenile (white tipped) coverts. I wondered if this might be a second year bird, but the juvenile coverts are so fresh that this seems very unlikely.