Ardea alba modesta

(Gray, 1831)

Vernacular names
English : Eastern great egret
French : Aigrette d’Australasie

Classification
Class : Aves
Order : Pelecaniformes
Family : Ardeidae
Notes : 3 other subspecies known. Sometimes treated as a separate species

Identification
Adults can reach up to 104 cm in length for a wingspan of 1.70 m and a weight up to 1.7 kg. Plumage is entirely white. Elongated plumes on wings, used for display. This subspecies has a black bill and reddish tinge on legs when breeding.

Range and habitat
This subspecies occurs from India to China, south to Indonesia and Australia. Lives in all kinds of coastal and inland wetlands, agricultural areas, up to 4000 m.

Conservation
IUCN RED LIST : LEAST CONCERN
CITES : Not Listed
Status : The species declined during the XIXth Century because of the plume trade. Although it has recovered, it could be locally threatened by habitat loss.
Ex-Situ Programs : None known

Observation

 

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