Egrets
Heron Information ... Heron Species
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An egret is any of several herons, most of which are white or buff, and several of which develop fine plumes during the breeding season. Many egrets are members of the genera Egretta or Ardea which contain other species named as herons rather than egrets. The distinction between a heron and an egret is rather vague, and depends more on appearance than biology.
Several of the egrets have been moved around from one genus to another in recent years: the Great Egret, for example, was traditionally classified as either a member of Casmoderius, Egretta or Ardea.
In the 19th and early part of the 20th century, some of the world's egret species were endangered by relentless hunting, since hat makers in Europe and the United States demanded massive numbers of egret plumes and breeding birds were killed in locations all around the world.
Several Egretta species, including the Eastern Reef Egret, the Reddish Egret and the Western Reef Egret have two distinct colour, one of which is entirely white. Little Blue Heron has an all-white juvenile plumage.
Species
- Great Egret or Great White Egret, Ardea alba
- Intermediate Egret, Ardea intermedia or Egretta intermedia
- Cattle Egret, Ardea ibis
- Little Egret Egretta garzetta
- Eastern Reef Egret, Egretta sacra
- Western Reef Egret, Egretta gularis
- Snowy Egret, Egretta thula
- Reddish Egret, Egretta rufescens
- Slaty Egret, Egretta vinaceigula : The Slaty Egret is a small, dark egret. It breeds in Zambia, Botswana, Namibia and Mozambique. It is classified as Vulnerable, the biggest threat being habitat loss. The Slaty Egret is one of the species to which the Agreement on the Conservation of African-Eurasian Migratory Waterbirds (AEWA) applies.
- Chinese Egret, Egretta eulophotes : The Chinese Egret or Swinhoe's Egret is a full-crested, white egret with yellow bill. It breeds in Russia, North Korea, South Korea and mainland China. It is classified as Vulnerable, the biggest threat being habitat loss.
Copyright: Wikipedia. This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from Wikipedia.org
Relevant Web Resources: Crane, Egret, Heron, Ibis, Stork Clipart ... Egret Jigsaws
- Chinese Egrets: Chinese Egret - One of the Fifty Rarest Birds of the World ... Chinese egret moves to Primorye
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