Reddish egret
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The reddish egret (Egretta rufescens) is a medium-sized heron that is a resident breeder in Central America, the Bahamas, the Caribbean, the Gulf Coast of the United States (primarily Texas), and Mexico. The egret is known for its unusual foraging behavior compared to other herons as well as its association with mud flats, its habitat of choice.
In the past, this bird was a victim of the plume trade and is North America’s "rarest and least studied ardeid."<ref name=":0" />
TaxonomyEdit
The reddish egret was formally described in 1789 by the German naturalist Johann Friedrich Gmelin in his revised and expanded edition of Carl Linnaeus's Systema Naturae. He placed it with the herons, cranes and egrets in the genus Ardea and coined the binomial name Ardea rufescens.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> Gmelin based his description on that of the English ornithologist John Latham who in 1785 had included the species in his multi-volume A General Synopsis of Birds.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> Latham had in turn based his own description on the "L'Aigrette rousse, de la Louisiane" that the French polymath Comte de Buffon had described and illustrated in his Histoire Naturelle des Oiseaux.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref><ref>Template:Cite book</ref> The reddish egret is now placed with 12 other species in the genus Egretta that was introduced in 1817 by the German naturalist Johann Reinhold Forster.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref><ref name=ioc>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> The genus name comes from the Provençal French word for the little egret, aigrette, a diminutive of aigron, "heron". The specific epithet rufescens is Latin meaning "reddish".<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>
Two subspecies are recognised:<ref name=ioc/>
- E. r. rufescens (Gmelin 1789) – south USA, West Indies and Mexico
- E. r. dickeyi (Van Rossem, 1926) – Baja California (Mexico)
DescriptionEdit
This species reaches Template:Convert in length, with a Template:Convert wingspan.<ref name=TPWD/><ref name=WAZA/> Body mass in this species can range from Template:Convert.<ref name=AAB/> Among standard linear measurements, the wing chord is Template:Convert, the tail is Template:Convert, the bill is Template:Convert and the tarsus is Template:Convert.<ref name=BNA/> It is a medium-sized, long-legged, long-necked heron with a long pointed pinkish bill with a black tip. It is distinctly larger than other co-existing members of the genus Egretta, but smaller than the great blue heron and great egret. The legs and feet are bluish-black. While the sexes are similar, there are two distinct color morphs. The adult dark morph has a slate blue body and reddish head and neck with shaggy plumes. The adult white morph has entirely white body plumage. Young birds have a brown body, head, and neck. During mating, the male's plumage stands out in a ruff on its head, neck and back. The bird's usual cry is a low, guttural croak.
BehaviorEdit
The reddish egret is considered one of the most active herons, and is often seen on the move.<ref name=":0">Template:Cite journal</ref> It stalks its prey (fish, frogs, crustaceans, and insects) in shallow water, typically near mud flats, while frequently running energetically and using the shadow of its wings to reduce glare on the water once it is in position to spear its prey.<ref name=":0" /> Due to its bold, rapacious yet graceful feeding behavior and its typical proximity to mud flats, author Pete Dunne nicknamed the reddish egret "the Tyrannosaurus rex of the Flats".<ref name=Dunne/>Template:Rp
BreedingEdit
The reddish egret is a resident breeder in Central America, The Bahamas, the Caribbean, the Gulf Coast of the United States, and Mexico.<ref name="BirdLife" /> Its breeding habitat is tropical swamps. It nests in colonies, often with other herons, usually on platforms of sticks in trees or shrubs.<ref name=AAB/> These colonies are usually located on coastal islands.Template:Citation needed In Texas, however, these nests are often built on the ground, sometimes on oyster shell beaches.<ref name=TPWD/> These birds have raucous courtship displays. They generally involve shaking of the head during the greeting ceremony, followed by chases and circle flights. They also involve raising of the neck, back and crest feathers, accompanied by bill clacking,<ref name=AAB/> similar to the tricolored heron (Egretta tricolor).<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
According to the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department, there are only 1,500 to 2,000 nesting pairs of reddish egrets in the United States — and most of these are in Texas.<ref name="TPWD" /> They are classified as "threatened" in Texas and receive special protection.<ref name="TPWD" />
GalleryEdit
- Reddish Egret Canopy Hunting.jpg
Canopy hunting
- Reddish Egret & Snowy Egret - Long Key State Park, Florida.jpg
With great egret at Long Key State Park
- Reddish Egret - Long Key State Park.jpg
- Reddish Egret Mix morph.jpg
Intermediate morph in Jacksonville, Florida
- Reddish egret fishing.png
Fishing the mangroves, Lac Cai, Bonaire
- Reddish Egret Canopy Fishing (1 of 1).jpg
Canopy fishing, Lac Cai, Bonaire
- Reddish Egret 3865.jpg
Reddish Egret (Bolsa Chica Wetlands - Huntington Beach, CA)