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5

Western Reef Heron (Egretta gularis) Alternate name(s): "Western Reef Egret"; race "schistacea": "Indian Reef Heron" Size: 55-65 cm; wing span 85-105 cm Weight: 300-700 g

Oman: Family Group 5 Family Group 5 Table Great White Egret Intermediate Egret Cattle Egret Little Egret Western Reef Heron Purple Heron Grey Heron Striated Heron Squacco Heron Indian Pond Heron Black-crowned Night Heron Little Bittern African Sacred Ibis Glossy Ibis Eurasian Spoonbill White Stork Greater Flamingo Lesser Flamingo Thumbnails page Classification table Index of bird names Oman birds home page

Similar species

Description     Classification     Distribution     Sightings     Photos     Breeding     Nest     Eggs     Behaviour     Food     Call/s

Physical description 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.

Taxonomy, classification See Western Reef Heron at Wikipedia . Click here for classification information Former race "sacra" has been given full species status as the Eastern Reef Egret ("Egretta [Ardea] sacra").

Range, habitat 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.

Sightings 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.

Photos

Race "schistacea"

White morphology

ADULT

Sex unknown

NON-BREEDING

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]

IMMATURE/JUVENILE

Frontal view of a mottled Western Reef Heron; the mottling suggests that this may be a juvenile bird
[Qurm, December 2009]

Grey morphology

ADULT

Sex unknown

NON-BREEDING

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]

Food, Diet

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.

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