Western Reef Heron
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| iWestern Reef Heron | ||||||||||||||
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| Egretta gularis (Bosc, 1792) |
The Western Reef Heron, Egretta gularis, is a medium-sized heron. It occurs mainly on the coasts in tropical west Africa, the Red Sea and east to India.
The Western Reef Heron's breeding habitat is coastal wetlands. They nest in colonies, often with other wading birds, usually on platforms of sticks in trees or shrubs. The normal clutch is two or three eggs.
This bird has two plumage colour forms. There is an all-white morph and a dark grey morph; intermediate morphs also occur. The white morph is similar in general appearance to the Little Egret, but has a thicker bill, duller legs, and a less elegant appearance. The grey morph is unlikely to be confused with any other species within the range of this egret.
These birds stalk their prey in shallow water, often running or shuffling their feet; they may also stand still and wait to ambush prey. They eat fish, crustaceans, and molluscs.
Western Reef Heron has occurred as a vagrant in the United States of America on two recorded occasions, most recently in August of 2006. The sightings were on the Atlantic coast in Kittery, Maine and New Castle, New Hampshire. Recent pictures from the latter site can be seen here.
The taxonomy of this species is being seriously questioned. There are three subspecies; E. g. gularis, schistacea, and dimorpha; all of which seem to be less related than formerly believed. An interesting analysis of the situation can be read in a birding bulletin written by Nikolas Haass: surfbirds.com/phorum/read.php?f=51&i=5332&t=5332
[edit] References
- BirdLife International (2004). Egretta gularis. 2006 IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. IUCN 2006. Retrieved on 12 May 2006. Database entry includes justification for why this species is of least concern
