Western Reef-Heron

Egretta gularisOrder: CICONIIFORMES Family: Bitterns, Herons and Egrets (Ardeidae)

Codes: Common Name: WEHE Scientific Name: EGRGUL ITIS Taxonomic No.: 174822

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Overview

Western Reef-Heron: This Old World species is exclusively coastal. There is a dark (shown here) and light morph. Dark morph is slate gray overall with white chin and throat. Legs are black with yellow feet. The light morph is white overall with two long narrow plumes on the back of the crown.

Range and Habitat

Western Reef-Heron: Found mainly on the coasts in tropical west Africa, the Red Sea, the Persian Gulf and east to India. The first record in North America was in Massachusetts in 1983. Since then it has been seen in Newfoundland, Nova Scotia, Maine, New Hampshire, New Jersey, and New York.

Topo Map:

Voice Text

"kawwwww"

Interesting Facts

The Western Reef Heron has occurred as a vagrant twice in Canada and four times in the United States, first on Nantucket in April, 1983 and several times between 2005 and 2007 in Maine, New Hampshire, New York, and New Jersey.

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.

A group of herons has many collective nouns, including a "battery", "hedge", "pose", "rookery", and "scattering" of herons."

Bird Term Glossary

Author

Crystal Adams

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Bird Call Credits: The Macaulay Library of Natural Sounds at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology. Martyn Stewart, http://www.naturesound.org, Redmond, Washington USA. The reuse or copying of bird calls in this database is strictly forbidden.

Western Reef-Heron

● Song: "kawwwww"

● Foraging & Feeding: Western Reef-Heron: Stalks in a crouched position on shallow reefs and mudflats. Diet includes fish, frogs, mollusks, crustaceans, and mice. Does not spear food, but grasps with mandibles and swallows whole.

● Breeding & nesting: Western Reef-Heron: Two to five pale green to blue-white eggs are laid on an untidy platform of sticks built by both sexes, located in a tree, on a rock ledge, under shrubs, or on the ground. Eggs are incubated for 20-25 days by both sexes. Semialtricial young stay in nest about 30 days.

● Similar species: Western Reef-Heron: Little Blue Heron is slate blue overall, head and neck are dark purple, bill is gray with a black tip, legs and feet are dull yellow-green.

Flight Pattern

Slow direct flight with deep, rapid wing beats.

● Range & Habitat: Western Reef-Heron: Found mainly on the coasts in tropical west Africa, the Red Sea, the Persian Gulf and east to India. The first record in North America was in Massachusetts in 1983. Since then it has been seen in Newfoundland, Nova Scotia, Maine, New Hampshire, New Jersey, and New York.

^BreedingMonogamous, Colonial

^PopulationRare

^MigrationNonmigratory

^Weight14.1 Ounces

Chin

The area of the face just below the bill.

Crown

The crown is the top part of the birds head.

Plumes

Large, conspicuous, showy feathers.

4 and 6 letter alpha codes

The four letter common name alpha code is is derived from the first two letters of the common first name and the first two letters of common last name. The six letter species name alpha code is derived from the first three letters of the scientific name (genus) and the first three letters of the scientific name (species). See (1) below for the rules used to create the codes..

Four-letter (for English common names) and six-letter (for scientific names) species alpha codes were developed by Pyle and DeSante (2003, North American Bird-Bander 28:64-79) to reflect A.O.U. taxonomy and nomenclature (A.O.U. 1998) as modified by Supplements 42 (Auk 117:847-858, 2000) and 43 (Auk 119:897-906, 2002). The list has been updated by Pyle and DeSante to reflect changes reported by the A.O.U from 2003 through 2006.

Field Guide to Birds of North America