New London ― Police charged two 18-year-old Glastonbury men on Monday with maiming and possibly killing an egret that may be on the state’s threatened species list.

New London police said they were called to Ocean Beach Park after witnesses said two men were seen throwing rocks at a bird described by witnesses as a snowy egret. Police said the men then attacked the bird, tackling it and holding it by the neck.

Both the great egret and snowy egret, which are long-legged wading birds with white plumage, are listed as state threatened species by the state Department of Energy and Environmental Protection and protected under the federal Migratory Bird Treaty Act of 1918.

Police said a good Samaritan from the Waterford side of Alewife Cove, which separates Ocean Beach from Waterford Beach, chased the men off during the attack. The man and his wife supplied police with photos of the men, which led to their arrests.

Benjamin M. Pavano and Parker Wallace were charged with cruelty to animals. The two were each released on a $5,000 bond and scheduled to appear July 18 in New London Superior Court.

Environmental Conservation Police from the state Department of Energy and Environmental Protection also responded to the incident call. It is unclear whether the bird lived. More details about the attack were not available on Wednesday.