Friday 29 September
Kingdom | Animalia |
Phylum | Chordata |
Class | Aves |
Order | Ciconiiformes |
Family | Ardeidae |
Genus | Egretta (1) |
Western reef-egret is the name given to two former subspecies of the little egret (Egretta garzetta), now treated somewhat contentiously as a single separate species (3) (4) (5) (6). This thin, medium-sized heron occurs in two distinct forms, one of which has mostly dark slaty-grey plumage and a white throat, while the other has predominately white plumage (2) (3) (5). During the breeding season, both forms develop red lores and distinctive plumes on the head, chest and back (3) (5). The legs are dark, while the feet are bright yellow, except during the height of courtship when they turn pinkish red (5).
With a diet chiefly comprised of fish, crustaceans and molluscs, the western reef-egret forages mainly over shallow water and mud (2) (3) (4). Most foraging activity occurs during the day, with non-breeding adults generally foraging alone or occasionally in small groups (4) (5). At night, however, this species sometimes roosts in large numbers (up to 1,000 individuals), in mangroves and on rocky cliffs and islets (4).
Breeding occurs between April and July and also in October, with some individuals forming solitary pairs, whilst others gather in small colonies of up to 100 pairs. The nest is a platform of twigs and seaweed positioned on the ground, in reedbeds and mangroves, and on ledges or rocks. Although very little is known about the movements of the western reef-egret, some populations appear to disperse widely after breeding and may be partially migratory (4) (5).
Classified as Least Concern (LC) on the IUCN Red List (1).
There are currently no conservation measures specific to this species.
To find out more about the western reef-egret and other herons, see:
For more information on this and other bird species please see:
Image credit
© Manjeet & Yograj Jadeja
Manjeet & Yograj Jadeja
wildlensonline@yahoo.com
http://www.flickr.com/photos/wildlens/
Link to this photo
Embed this Arkive thumbnail link ("portlet") by copying and pasting the code below.
Terms of Use - The displayed portlet may be used as a link from your website to Arkive's online content for private, scientific, conservation or educational purposes only. It may NOT be used within Apps.
Read more about
MyARKive
MyARKive offers the scrapbook feature to signed-up members, allowing you to organize your favourite Arkive images and videos and share them with friends.
Play the Team WILD game:
This species is featured in: