Eastern great egret images

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The Eastern great egret (Ardea modesta) belongs to the family of egrets, bitterns and herons, the Ardeidae under the order Pelecaniformes.

Eastern great egret taxonomy

The Ardeidae is the family of herons. The family Ardeidae was first described by William Elford Leach, MD, FRS (2 February 1791 – 25 August 1836), an English zoologist and marine biologist, in the year 1820.

The family Ardeidae comprises three subfamilies, viz., Tigriornithinae, Botaurinae and Ardeinae. The subfamily Ardeinae contains eleven extant genera, including Ardea.

The genus Ardea (egrets and herons) was first introduced by Carl Linnaeus (23 May 1707 – 10 January 1778), a Swedish botanist, physician and zoologist, in the year 1758.

The genus Ardea comprises 14 extant species, including Ardea modesta. This egret species was first described by John Edward Gray, FRS (12 February 1800 – 7 March 1875), a British zoologist, in the year 1831.

"The eastern great egret (Ardea alba modesta), a white egret in the genus Ardea, is usually considered a subspecies of the great egret (A. alba)."

However, a study in 2005, favored considering Ardea modesta as full species.

Taxonomic classification
Binomial name:	Ardea modesta
Species:	A. modesta
Genus:	Ardea
Subfamily:	-
Family:	Ardeidae
Order:	Pelecaniformes
Class:	Aves
Phylum:	Chordata
Kingdom:	Animalia

1.Eastern great egret - Ardea modesta
Image by Laitche

2.Eastern great egret - Ardea modesta
Image by JJ Harrison

3.Eastern great egret - Ardea modesta
Image by J.M.Garg

4.Eastern great egret - Ardea modesta
Image by J.M.Garg

5.Eastern great egret - Ardea modesta
Image by J.M.Garg

6.Eastern great egret - Ardea modesta
Image by L. Shyamal

7.Eastern great egret - Ardea modesta
Image by Gnangarra

8.Eastern great egret - Ardea modesta
Image by Lip Kee

9.Eastern great egret - Ardea modesta
Image by Mk2010

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1.Image source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Eastern_great_egret,_Nagai_Park,_Osaka.jpg (cropped)
Author: Laitche | License: CC BY-SA 4.0 as on 8/13/18
2.Image source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Ardea_modesta.jpg (cropped)
Author: JJ Harrison | License: CC BY-SA 3.0 as on 8/13/18
3.Image source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/ (cropped)
Author: J.M.Garg | License: CC BY-SA 3.0 as on 8/13/18
4.Image source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/ (cropped)
Author: J.M.Garg | License: CC BY-SA 3.0 as on 8/13/18
5.Image source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/ (cropped)
Author: J.M.Garg | License: CC BY-SA 3.0 as on 8/13/18
6.Image source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:EgrettaAlba_Malpe.jpg (cropped)
Author: L. Shyamal | License: CC BY-SA 2.5 as on 8/13/18
7.Image source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Heron_herdsman_lake.jpg (cropped)
Author: Gnangarra | License: CC-by-2.5 as on 8/13/18
8.Image source: https://www.flickr.com/photos/lipkee/2357185193/ (cropped)
Author: Lip Kee | License: CC BY-SA 2.0 as on 8/13/18
9.Source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/ (cropped)
Author: Mk2010 | License: CC BY-SA 3.0 as on 8/13/18
Current topic in Bird World: Eastern great egret - Ardea modesta images.

Eastern great egret

Home   ›   Mandarin duck   ›   Eastern great egret - Ardea modesta.

The eastern great egret (Ardea modesta) belongs to the family Ardeidae.

The eastern great egret is distributed in Indian Subcontinent, southern and eastern Asia and Australia.

Taxonomy

• Scientific Name: Ardea modesta
• Common Name: Eastern great egret
• Family: Ardeidae › Pelecaniformes › Aves › Chordata › Animalia
• Species author: J.E. Gray, 1831

Earlier the eastern great egret was considered as a subspecies of great egret, Ardea alba. Later it was elevated to full species status (Kushlan & Hancock 2005; Christidis & Boles 2008).

Description

The eastern great egrets are moderately large birds. They measure 80 to 100 cm in length and weigh 700 to 1,200 grams.

They have a white plumage and black bill. Breeding birds have yellow bill. The legs are red or black. The breeding birds have long neck plumes. Their neck is very long; one and a half times as long as their own body. They roost in large flocks.

Indian birds - Eastern great egret - Ardea modesta

Habitat

The eastern great egret is found to occur in a wide range of wetland habitats and shallow waters. They are seen both in freshwater and saline habitats. They are found in marshes, swamps, river mud flats, margin of rivers, lakes, ponds, flooded grasslands, pastures, agricultural lands, tidal streams, mangrove swamps, coastal lagoons and offshore reefs.

Feeding habits

While feeding eastern great egrets often occur solitarily or in small groups. These egret species feed on fish, frogs, small reptiles, small birds, rodents, insects, crustaceans and molluscs. They secure the prey by stabbing or pecking with the bill.

Breeding

The eastern great egrets nest in colonies, sometimes mixed with other egrets, herons, ibises and cormorants. The breeding season of these egrets varies with local conditions. One brood is raised in a year. The nest is a wide platform with a shallow for eggs and hatchlings. The clutch may consist of two to six blue-green, oval eggs. Both the egret parents incubate the eggs and feed the hatchlings.

Distribution

These egret species are distributed in Indian Subcontinent, Asia and Australia. Breeding populations are located in Pakistan, India, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Burma, Thailand, China, Korea, north-eastern Russia, Japan, Indo-China, Indonesia, Papua New Guinea, Solomon Islands, Australia and New Zealand.

Movement Patterns

After the breeding season, these egrets disperse widely in parts of their range. They also appear to migrate.

Status and conservation

The global population size of the eastern great egret is estimated at approximately 60,000 to 300,000 individuals. Persistent environmental contamination, alteration of existing wetland habitat and loss of breeding sites are the main conservation issues. Nests and eggs are vulnerable to crows and other birds. Nestlings are vulnerable to a variety of predators including ravens/crows, raptors and aquatic animals.

The IUCN (International Union for Conservation of Nature) has categorized and evaluated the eastern great egret species and has listed them as of "Least Concern".

Biological classification of Ardea modesta
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Aves
Order:	Pelecaniformes
Family:	Ardeidae
Subfamily:	-
Genus:	Ardea
Species:	A. modesta
Binomial name:	Ardea modesta
Distribution:	Indian Subcontinent, south and east Asia, Australia;
Feeding habits:	fish, insects, crustaceans, molluscs, frogs, lizards, snakes and small birds and mammals;
IUCN status listing:	Least Concern

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Image source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Great_Egret_(Casmerodius_albus)-_Breeding_plumage_at_Sultanpur_I_Picture_257.jpg
Author: J.M.Garg | License: CC BY-SA 3.0
Current topic in Birds of India: Eastern great egret - Ardea modesta.