passerby-b

The picture was taken in the morning on 25 October 2020 at
Shen Zhen Bay Park in Shen Zhen.

Is it an Intermediate Egret or a Swinhoe's Egret? I ruled out the Cattle Egret because on site, the bird is larger than the little egret in vicinity.

badesc

I think you should rule out Great Egret as well, and that’s hard.

The gape extends clearly behind the eye, where it should extend no further than below the eye in Intermediate. Also, the very long, strong and pointed bill, and the head shape (no trace of the more rounded, kind of friendlier or cuter looking appearance in Intermediate) points to Great Egret.

Just one picture is always tricky, but I would say Great Egret.

passerby-b

Thank you! By referring to the literature again, I found I had confused that all Great Egret should have yellowish green upper legs.