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Western Reef-heron

A species of Typical Egrets
Scientific name : Egretta gularis Genus : Typical Egrets

Western Reef-heron, A species of Typical Egrets
Botanical name: Egretta gularis
Genus: Typical Egrets
Western Reef-heron (Egretta gularis) Photo By Shyamal , used under CC-BY-SA-3.0 /Cropped and compressed from original

Description

This bird has two plumage colour forms. There is an all-white morph and a dark grey morph; morphs can also occur with intermediate shades of grey which may be related to age or particoloured in grey and white. The white morph is similar in general appearance to the little egret, but has a larger yellower bill, extended yellow on thicker legs, and when foraging tends to be very active, sometimes also moving its wing or using it to shade the water surface. The grey morph has a whitish throat and is unlikely to be confused with any other species within the range of this egret with beak and legs similar to that of the white morph. During the breeding season the legs and facial skin are reddish. Breeding birds have two long feathers on the sides of the nape. The nominate subspecies gularis has a range from West Africa to Gabon, with some birds breeding in southern Europe. Subspecies schistacea (Hemprich & Ehrenberg, 1828) breeds from the Persian Gulf along the coast of India to the east of the India Peninsula. The bill of gularis is more pointed while schistacea has the larger bill especially towards the base. The form on the eastern coast of South Africa is usually separated as the dimorphic egret Egretta dimorpha. The dark and white morph is thought to be controlled by a single allele with the dark character being incompletely dominant over the gene for white.
Size
56-66 cm (22-26 in)
Colors
Black
Gray
White
Life Expectancy
22 years
Nest Placement
Tree
Feeding Habits
Western Reef-heron consumes a variety of prey including insects, crustaceans, small fish, amphibians, mollusks, spiders, worms, reptiles, and occasionally small birds. It employs diverse foraging techniques such as wading and striking quickly to capture prey with specialized timing and precision.
Habitat
Western Reef-heron are typically associated with coastal habitats, preferring rocky and sandy shorelines, coral reefs, and occasionally venturing to estuaries, mudflats, salt marshes, and mangrove forests. Despite their coastal affinity, these birds can sometimes be observed inland around tidal creeks and on muddy substrates. However, they are seldom found on purely rocky or sandy beaches. Their habitat spans across a wide geographic region that includes various coastal areas, often extending to areas such as the Rift Valley lakes and different parts of the Arabian Peninsula.
Dite type
Piscivorous

General Info

Feeding Habits

Bird food type

Behavior

These birds stalk their prey in shallow water, often running or stirring the water with their feet or flicking their wings to disturb prey; they may also stand still and wait to ambush prey. They eat fish, crustaceans, and molluscs. In coastal areas, they regularly feed on mudskippers. Laboratory studies show them to be capable of making corrections for refractions but the probability of missing increases when they are forced to strike at prey at very acute angles to the water surface. Like other herons and egrets they have few vocalizations, making a low kwok or grating sounds when disturbed or near the nest. The western reef heron's breeding habitat is coastal wetlands. In the Red Sea region the breeding season is from June to August. The nominate subspecies breeds in West Africa from late April to September. In India the breeding season is during the monsoon rains from April to August and end of May in the former breeding colony at Chilaw in Sri Lanka. Most of the breeding colonies in Gujarat in western India were on mangroves. They nest in colonies usually of their own species but sometimes with other egrets and smaller herons, usually on platforms of sticks placed in trees or shrubs. The male fetches sticks of the nest while the female places them to form the platform. The nest height varies from about 5 to 15 meters, but very low nesting (as low as 0.6 meters) has been observed in mangrove trees in salt pans. The usual clutch is three to four eggs which are light blue as in the little egret. Incubation begins when the first egg is laid resulting in chicks with size disparities. Both parents take turns to incubate and the eggs hatch after about 23 to 24 days. The chicks are white with grey dapples. Young birds sometimes die after falling off from the nest platform. Adults will shade the chicks during the hotter parts of the day. Predators of eggs include rats and young chicks may be taken by cats and crows. Adults usually guard the nest when eggs or young chicks are present. Adults feed the young by regurgitating semi-digested food at the nest. This diet includes mainly small fishes of the families Clupeidae, Gobiidae and Engraulidae. The young birds leave the nest after about a month.

Distribution Area

It occurs mainly on the coasts in tropical west Africa, the Red Sea, the Persian Gulf (Iran) extending east to India. It also occurs in the Lakshadweep Islands and Sri Lanka where breeding was once recorded at Chilaw. The nominate subspecies breeds in west Africa from Mauritania to Gabon. Birds may also be found off the mainland such as in the Canary Islands. Small numbers breed in Spain. Subspecies schistacea is found from the Red Sea coast east round the Indian coast. Breeding colonies are known from the east coast of India around Pulicat Lake. They occasionally occur further inland. The western reef heron (nominate subspecies) occurs as a vagrant in North America, South America and the Caribbean islands. Based on the growing number of records it is suspected that they may establish breeding colonies in Brazil. Several records around 1980–90 in Germany, Austria and France have been attributed to birds that escaped from an animal dealer in Mittelfranken.

Species Status

Not globally threatened.
Western Reef-heron (Egretta gularis) Western Reef-heron (Egretta gularis) Photo By Shyamal , used under CC-BY-SA-3.0 /Cropped and compressed from original

Scientific Classification

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