Do Egrets and Blue Herons mate?
The answer is maybe, but very unlikely. Herons and egrets both belong to the genus Egretta, suggesting that interspecific crossbreeding can occur. An example of this is the liger– a hybrid of a lion and tiger. Both are of the same genus but are different species. Offspring that result from crossbreeding are sterile and cannot reproduce more hybrid animals, usually due to different numbers of chromosomes between various species. This, in combination with the different courtship behaviors throughout the animal kingdom, is nature’s way of preventing populations of unnatural hybrids from multiplying. So technically a heron and an egret might be able to produce a sterile chick. But because of their species-specific behavior and preference towards animals of their own kind, it is probably not going to happen without some kind of human intervention.
