ダイサギ・ホオジロ幼鳥 / Great egret and juvenile meadow bunting

A great egret (a. a modesta). It is a common heron in Yamaguchi Prefecture, and I personally encounter it more often than intermediate egrets in the summer. Many of them run away when I stop my car to take pictures, but I was able to get a relatively close shot of this one. The background was monotonous and not very good.

It appears to be a juvenile meadow bunting. I feel a little sorry for the grasshopper, which is perfectly pinned head-first by this thick, short bill.

Adult meadow buntings are usually found on the tips of branches, so I don’t think we see them on the ground very often. This posture with its wings down reminds me of a dusky thrush in winter.