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Great Egret
(Casmerodius [or Ardea] albus)
The Great Egret, a member of the heron family, is a common bird in Northern California, where it finds plenty of marshy ponds, lake-sides, and even highway drainage ditches that contain its favorite foods (frogs, snakes, lizards, snails, clams, mussels, etc). This bird was photographed in downtown San Rafael, a city of 50,000 inhabitants, in the creek (not river) that runs through it. The image was captured on film with Nikon equipment. These egrets are large: a wingspan of over 50 in., and length 32-41 in., the male averages larger than female. As shown by this bird, the bill is yellow, 3.15-5.00 inches long and the legs and feet are black. An image of one of these huge birds flying can be seen here.
For more information about the Great Egret, see: http://www.natureali.com/GrEg.htm or http://www.inhs.uiuc.edu/chf/pub/ifwis/birds/great-egret.html