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Western Reef Heron
(Egretta gularis)
: "Western Reef Egret"; race "schistacea":
"Indian Reef Heron"
Size: 55-65 cm; wing span 85-105 cm
Weight: 300-700 g
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Similar species |
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Physical description |
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Click here for a physical description
Western Reef Herons are medium-sized herons. Their
plumage
comes in two morphologies,
white
and grey.
White
Western Reef Herons are all-white (we have seen a specimen with
grey nuchal
plumes).
Grey
Western Reef Herons are all-slate-grey, except for a white
chin patch.
Both morphologies have
nuchal plumes.
The irises of both morphologies are yellow.
The bill, which is longer and thinner than that of an
Intermediate
Egret's, has a grey upper mandible, possibly with a brownish
tip, and a brown lower one. The bill takes on a more orange
hue during the breeding season.
The legs are grey, while the feet are greyish-yellow.
Some individuals have dark bill and/or mixed dark and white
plumage.
Juveniles have a light-grey front and a darker-grey back.
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Taxonomy, classification |
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See Western
Reef Heron at Wikipedia .
Click here for classification information
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Range, habitat |
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Click here for information on habitat
and range
The overall distribution of this species can be assessed, and
specific locations where birds have been spotted can be found,
based on individual sighting reports submitted by birdwatchers to
ebird.org
.
The global distribution of the Western Reef Heron is available
HERE
.
There are three races of Western Reef Herons, nominate race
"gularis", race "schistacea" and
race "dimorpha".
Race "gularis" is found in West Africa (in part also inland),
on the Azores and in rare cases in Spain.
Race "dimorpha" populates Madagascar and the south-eastern
African coastline near Madagascar.
Race
"schistacea" occurs in (near-)coastal regions around the
Red Sea, along the coastline of Arabia, Iraq, Iran and into
Pakistan and all along the coastline of the Indian subcontinent
(but not Bangladesh).
In Oman we have found both grey-morphology and
white-morphology Western Reef Herons, race
"schistacea",
on the North coast of the country, but they populate basically
the entire coastal fringe of the Arabian peninsula.
Western Reef Herons can be found in both freshwater and salt
water habitats, usually along or near oceanic coastlines.
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Sightings |
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Click here for sighting information
Race "schistacea"
Both white-
and grey-morphology
Western Reef Herons of race
"schistacea" were first spotted by us around some water
puddles in an otherwise dry riverbed (wadi) at Qurm, near
Muscat, Oman, in December 2009.
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Photos |
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Race "schistacea"
White morphology
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ADULT |
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NON-BREEDING |
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Frontal view of a white-morphology Western Reef Heron, front
right (note the nuchal plumes), and a number of grey-morphology
Western Reef Herons working over a shallow puddle
[Qurm, December 2009]
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IMMATURE/JUVENILE |
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Frontal view of a mottled Western Reef Heron; the
mottling suggests that this may be a juvenile bird
[Qurm, December 2009]
Grey morphology
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ADULT |
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NON-BREEDING |
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Frontal view of a grey-morphology Western Reef Heron (note the
white chin patch giving the species its name "gularis"), with
a white-morphology bird in the background
[Qurm, December 2009]
Lateral view of a grey-morphology Western Reef Heron
[Qurm, December 2009]
Lateral view of a grey-morphology Western Reef Heron
[Qurm, December 2009]
Grey-morphology Western Reef Heron (left) and Grey Heron (right) next to
each other, giving a good impression of the
relative sizes of both species
[Qurm, December 2009]
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Food, Diet |
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All egrets and herons prey on aquatic creatures in fresh water or
estuaries (fish, frogs, snakes or crustaceans).
These pages are largely based on our own observations and those of our
contributors. The structure of these bird pages is explained HERE. For more salient facts on any bird species
please refer to a field guide.