What species does the great egret belong to?

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Contributing defender Dong Li Xiaoju

The great egret (scientific name: Ardea alba) is divided into three kinds of egrets, namely, the great egret, the middle egret and the small egret are large and medium-sized wading birds, and the adult Stephane is milky white; Rusty beak; There is a short crown on the head; There are long withering feathers forming a cluster between the shoulders, which extend all the way back, usually above the tip of the tail feather 10 cm, and sometimes not more than; The base of spear feather stem is tough, gradually decreasing to the tip, and the feather branches are slender and scattered. Adult birds with winter feathers have no withered feathers on their backs, no crests on their heads, and yellowish irises.

This kind of heron inhabits seashores, paddy fields, lakes, mangroves and other wetlands. It is often mixed with other herons and cormorants. The great egret only moves during the day, and its neck shrinks into an S-shape when walking. The neck is the same when flying, and the feet are straight back and beyond the tail. They feed on crustaceans, mollusks, aquatic insects, small fish, frogs, tadpoles and lizards. Mainly wading for food in shallow water near the water's edge, and often walking slowly on the grass near the water's edge, pecking while walking. Distributed in temperate regions of the world.

(Overview reference source: [1])

Chinese name

Great egret

Foreign name

Great egret

Another name

Egret, egret, white floating bird, big crane, Baizhuang, Baiwa, Xue Ke

Latin scientific name

Ardea alba

boundary

animal kingdom

quick

navigate by water/air

Distribution range, breeding mode, subspecies distribution and protection status of habitat living habits, artificial feeding

morphological character

Great egret is a kind of great egret. The neck and feet are very long, the gender is similar, and the whole body is white. During the breeding period, there are three rows of straight withering feathers on the shoulder and back, which are scattered and extend backward to the tail end, and some even exceed the tail end by 30-40 mm. The stems of gun feathers are ivory white, the base is tough, the tip is gradually getting smaller, and the feathers are slender, scattered and sparse. The lower body is also white, and the abdominal feathers are slightly yellow. The mouth and eyes are black first, and there is a black line from the corner of the mouth to the back of the eyes. Winter feather is similar to Stephane, with white body, but there is no long withering feather in the lower part of the front neck and shoulders, and the mouth and eyes are yellow first. The iris is yellow, the skin around the mouth, eyes and eyes is black in breeding period, yellow in non-breeding period, red in exposed part of tibia, and black in tarsus and toes. [2]

***24 sheets

Great egret

Size measurement: weight ♂ 840- 1 100g, ♀ 625-1025g; Body length ♂ 897-98 1mm, ♀ 820-855 mm; Mouth peak ♂ 95- 1 18mm, ♀ 96-104 mm; Wings ♂ 348-379mm, ♀ 330-350 mm; Tail ♂115-162mm, ♀122-138mm; ♂ 145- 170mm，♀ 135- 140mm。 (Note: ♂ male; ♀ Female) [2]

habitat

Rivers, lakes, paddy fields, coasts, estuaries and swamps live in open plains and mountainous and hilly areas. Mostly in open waters and nearby grasslands. [2]

Living habits

Migration: Some summer migratory birds, some tourist birds and winter migratory birds. Usually, from the end of March to mid-April, it moves to the northern breeding ground, and starts to leave the breeding ground in early June to spend the winter in the south. Migration often takes small groups or married groups as units and moves diagonally or at a certain angle.

Habit: They often move in small groups of more than 65,438+00, sometimes as many as 300 in large groups when breeding, and occasionally live together with other herons. Activities during the day, extremely cautious action, see people fly away. When flying, the wings flap awkwardly and the feet droop. After reaching a certain height, the flight is extremely flexible, the feet are straight back, far beyond the tail, the head is retracted to the back, the neck protrudes downward into a sac, and the wings are slowly stirred. When standing, the head also shrinks in the back and shoulders, showing a hunchback shape. When walking, you often shrink your neck and move forward slowly step by step.

Feeding habits: Orthoptera, COLEOPTERA, Diptera, crustaceans, mollusks, aquatic insects, small fish, frogs, tadpoles and lizards. Mainly wading for food in shallow water near the water's edge, and often walking slowly on the grass near the water's edge, pecking while walking. [2]

distribution range

world

Distributed in Afghanistan, Albania, Algeria, Angola, Anguilla, Antigua and Barbuda, Argentina, Armenia, Aruba, Australia, Austria, Azerbaijan, Bahamas, Bahrain, Bangladesh, Barbados, Belarus, Belgium, Belize, Benin, Bhutan, Bolivia, Bonaire, Saint yust and Saba, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Botswana, Brazil and Brunei. Burundi, Cambodia, Cameroon, Canada, Cayman Islands, Central African Republic, Chad, Chile, China, Christmas Island, Colombia, Comoros, Congo, Costa Rica, C? te d 'Ivoire, Croatia, Cuba, Cura? ao, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Dominica, Ecuador, Egypt, El Salvador, Eritrea. Gabon, Gambia, Georgia, Germany, Ghana, Greece, Grenada, Guadeloupe, Guam, Guatemala, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Guyana, Haiti, Honduras, Hungary, India, Indonesia, Iran (Islamic Republic of), Iraq, Israel, Italy, Jamaica, Japan, Jordan, Kazakhstan, Kenya, South Korea and North Korea. Latvia, Lebanon, Lesotho, Liberia, Libya, Macau, Macedonia, Madagascar, Malawi, Malaysia, Maldives, Mali, Mauritania, Mayotte, Mexico, Micronesia (Federated States of), Moldova, Mongolia, Montenegro, Montserrat, Morocco, Mozambique, Myanmar, Namibia, Nepal, Netherlands, Netherlands Antilles, New Zealand, Nicaragua. Northern Mariana Islands, Oman, Pakistan, Palau, Palestine, Panama, Papua New Guinea, Paraguay, Peru, Philippines, Poland, Portugal, Puerto Rico, Qatar, Romania, Russian Federation, Rwanda, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, Saint Martin (French), Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Saudi Arabia, Senegal, Serbia, Sierra Leone, Singapore. Slovenia, Solomon Islands, Somalia, South Africa, South Georgia and South Sandwich Islands, South Sudan, Spain, Sri Lanka, Sudan, Suriname, Swaziland, Switzerland, Syrian Arab Republic, Tajikistan, United Republic of Tanzania, Thailand, Timor-Leste, Togo, Trinidad and Tobago, Tunisia, Turkey, Turkmenistan, Turks and Caicos Islands, Uganda.

Travelers: british indian ocean territory, Djibouti, Equatorial Guinea, Fiji, Finland, Ireland, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, Malta, New Caledonia, Norway, Saint Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha, Saint Pierre and Miquelon, Sao Tome and Principe, Seychelles, Spain, Sweden and the United Kingdom. [3]

Distribution map of great egret

China

Named subspecies breed in Hulunchi, Heilongjiang River Basin, western and central Xinjiang in northeast China. During migration and wintering, it is distributed in the northwest, west and southwest of Gansu, Shaanxi, Qinghai and Tibet, and occasionally appears in Liaoning, Hebei, Sichuan and Hubei in the northeast. Common subspecies breed in Jilin, Liaoning, Hebei, Fujian, Mengzi and other places in the southeast of China. During migration and wintering, it is found in Henan, Shandong and Jiangxi in the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River, and Guangdong, Fujian, Hainan Island and Taiwan Province Province in the southeast coast. [2]

Breeding mode

The breeding season is from April to July. Nesting is carried out in tall trees or reeds, and there are many groups of nests. Sometimes there are several to dozens of pairs of nests on a tree at the same time, and they also nest with herons, which are carried out by both parents. The nest is very simple, usually composed of dead branches and hay, and sometimes it is padded with soft grass leaves. The nest has an outer diameter of 56-6 1 cm, an inner diameter of 52-54 cm, a height of 22-25 cm and a depth of 15-20 cm. 1 year breeds 1 nest, and each nest lays 3-6 eggs, mostly 4 eggs. Oval or oblong, sky blue, with a size of 51.5-60mm× 34-41mm and a weight of 29-31g. As soon as the first egg is laid, the incubation begins and is shared by both parents. The incubation period is 25-26 days, and the chicks are late. After hatching, the chicks are fed by male and female parents, and after about 1 month of nesting life, they can fly away from the nest. [2]

(of birds) nesting

lay eggs

egg

nestling

nestling

feed the chicken

feed the chicken

Mother and child

nest

Note: Great Egret Picture Module Website [4]

Subspecies distribution

Great Egret (Subspecies 4)

Nomenclators and years of scientific names in China.

1.

Named subspecies of great egret

White cheek fish

Linnai, 1758

2.

Great egret subspecies. Americans

aigrette

JF Green, 1789

3.

African subspecies of great egret

Papilio nigromaculata

Wagner, 1827

Spread out completely

[5]

Protect the status quo

Protection level

Listed in the IUCN Red List of Endangered Species) 20 16)ver 3. 1- No danger (LC). [3]

It was listed in the List of Terrestrial Wild Animals under National Key Protection or with Important Economic and Scientific Research Value issued by China State Forestry Administration on August, 2000 1. [2]

Demographic situation

Great egrets were once quite abundant in the north and south of China, especially common subspecies, which were widely distributed and abundant in quantity. In the 1960s, Liaoning once saw more than 300 great egrets nesting. Now it is hard to see such a spectacular sight. The main reason is that deforestation and environmental damage have led to a sharp decline in population, which has become quite rare. According to the winter solstice waterfowl surveys organized by the International Waterfowl Research Bureau in 1990 and 1992, 1990 only saw 277 1 bird in China, including 585 in Hongkong, 987 in Taiwan Province Province, and actually only 699 in Chinese mainland. 1992: 3003, including 628 in Hongkong and 1638 in Taiwan Province province, the number of people has rebounded. According to the survey of 1992, the overall situation in Asia is West Asia 9665, South Asia 1 1467, East Asia 3038 and Southeast Asia 2379, totaling 26,549. [2]

The species has a wide distribution range, which is not close to the critical value standard for the survival of vulnerable and endangered species (the distribution area or fluctuation range is less than 20,000 square kilometers, and the habitat quality, population size and distribution area are fragmented), and the population trend is stable, so it is evaluated as a species without survival crisis. [3]

artificial feeding

Great egrets can be raised in pairs or in groups. In some waterfowl lakes in zoos, it is common for great egrets to be mixed with other waterfowl. Generally, it is raised in iron wire or plastic cages, and the activity space of each pair of breeding birds should be 100- 150 cubic meters, otherwise it is not conducive to breeding. There should be a big dead tree in the cage, and a living tree is better. A perch pole should be set at a place 1.5 meters above the ground for birds to perch. Drinking utensils should be large and strong, but not too deep, generally about 40 cm. The feed for captive egrets is mainly fish, shrimp, shellfish, some amphibians and carnivores such as aquatic insects. In addition to animal feed, captive egrets should also be fed with inorganic salts, such as bone meal, oyster powder and a small amount of mineral and vitamin additives. Pay attention to hygiene when feeding. First of all, animal feed such as fish, shrimp and shellfish should be washed. Second, remove the residual food every day, especially in summer, and feed less each time. This kind of bird has a small appetite, so it is advisable to increase the feeding times and reduce the feeding amount each time in summer. Take the principle of not being hungry. [6]

Great egrets are easy to breed and raise. The breeding records in the zoo are: estrus, mating and nesting in early May, laying eggs in the middle and late May, with 3-5 eggs per nest and incubation period of about 28 days. After the chicks hatch, they need to rely on their parents for artificial brooding. During the breeding period, keep the environment quiet and try to avoid being frightened. Breeding birds kept in zoos should be kept separately from ornamental birds, and efforts should be made to create good habitats. The captive egret has high economic value, and its crown feathers, shoulder feathers and chest feathers can all be used as decorative feathers. [6]

put right

reference data

[1] Distribution map of great egrets. OISEAUX[ reference date 20 13-08-09]

[2] Zhao. Birds (non-passerine) in China. Jilin Science and Technology Press.20065438+0 June: 106- 107.

[3] Casmerodis Arbus. IUCN Red List.2012-02 [reference date 20 13-08-09]

[4] Great Egret Picture Module website. . ARKive[ reference date 20 13-08-09]

[5] Great Egret (Egret). IBC Bird Collection [reference date 20 13-08-09]

[6] Great Egret. Jinan Children's Palace Network [reference date 20 13-08-09]