From Opus

Egretta rufescens

Adult Dark Morph in breeding plumage. Photo by kverschoor
Location: Galveston, Texas, USA

White Morph. Photo by Gary Clark
Location: Gulf Coast, Texas, USA.

[edit] Identification

Length: 30" (76cm). Wingspan: 46" (117cm), Weight: 1lb (450gm). A large wading bird with long, flexible neck and long legs characteristic of the family. Most birds are the dark morph, and are easy to identify with their reddish heads and fronts, and reddish-gray rear half. The Pacific coast subspecies has paler head and neck than eastern birds. In the Gulf of Mexico there is a small population (no more than 7%) of the white morph. It can be difficult to distinguish from other egrets: note the completely dark legs, dark lores, and long dark heavy bill.

[edit] Distribution

Breeds on the Gulf Coast of the USA and Mexico as well as Honduras and Panama, Bahamas, Cuba, Jamaica, coastal Colombia and Venezuela. Rare on the Pacific Coast of California, but common further south along the coasts of Baja California, and west coast of Mexico.

[edit] Taxonomy

Two subspecies are recognized:^[1]

• E.r. rufescens - Gulf Coast of US, West Indies, winters to northwest South America.
• E.r. dickeyi - southern half of Baja California, wintering into Guatemala and El Salvador.

[edit] Habitat

Mainly coastal, found on tidal mudflats and estuaries, rarely inland.

[edit] Behaviour

It nests on coastal islands. Forages in shallow coastal areas and estuaries for fish. Usually solitary, it moves quickly compared to other wading birds.

[edit] References

1. Clements, JF. 2007. The Clements Checklist of Birds of the World. 6th ed. Ithaca: Cornell Univ. Press. ISBN 978-0801445019

• List of references

[edit] External Links