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Herons are long-legged, long-necked, freshwater and coastal birds in the family Ardeidae, with 74 recognised species, some of which are referred to as egrets or bitterns rather than herons. Members of the genus Botaurus are referred to as bitterns, and, together with the zigzag heron , or zigzag bittern, in the monotypic genus Zebrilus , form a ...
The great egret was formally described in 1758 by the Swedish naturalist Carl Linnaeus in the tenth edition of his Systema Naturae under the binomial name Ardea alba. He specified the type locality as Europe. [6] [7] The scientific name comes from Latin ardea, "heron", and alba, "white". [8] Like all egrets, it is a member of the heron family ...
[38] [46] [47] In contrast the Mycteria storks, Abdim's stork, openbills and Leptoptilos storks breed in colonies which can range from a couple of pairs to thousands. [31] [36] [37] Many of these species breed in colonies with other waterbirds, which can include other species of storks, herons and egrets, pelicans, cormorants and ibises. White ...
Many egrets are members of the genera Egretta or Ardea, which also 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. The word "egret" comes from the French word aigrette that means both "silver heron" and "brush", referring to the ...
Japanese night heron: Gorsachius goisagi (Temminck, 1836) 31 Capped heron: Pilherodius pileatus (Boddaert, 1783) 32 Whistling heron: Syrigma sibilatrix (Temminck, 1824) 33 Little blue heron: Egretta caerulea (Linnaeus, 1758) 34 Tricolored heron: Egretta tricolor (Müller, PLS, 1776) 35 Reddish egret: Egretta rufescens (Gmelin, JF, 1789) 36 ...
The great egret (Ardea alba, left) resembles the other Ardea in habitus, and the little egret (Egretta garzetta, right) only in color.. These are powerful birds with large spear-like bills, long necks and long legs, which hunt by waiting motionless or stalking their prey in shallow water before seizing it with a sudden lunge.
The "great white heron" could be confused with the great egret (Ardea alba), but is larger, with yellow legs as opposed to the great egret's black legs. The reddish egret ( Egretta rufescens ) and little blue heron ( Egretta caerulea ) could be mistaken for the great blue heron, but are much smaller, and lack white on the head and yellow in the ...
Western cattle egrets waiting for scraps at the fish market of Victoria, Seychelles. A conspicuous species, the cattle egret has attracted many common names. These mostly relate to its habit of following cattle and other large animals, and it is known variously as cow crane, cow bird or cow heron, or even elephant bird or rhinoceros egret. [16]