White-faced Heron (Egretta novaehollandiae)

Other Scientific Names
Ardea novaehollandiae [Turbott (1990)]

Other Names (World)
White-faced Heron, White-fronted Heron, Blue Crane

Family
Ardeidae (Herons)

Size
66 - 70 cm

First Described (Guide)
(Latham, 1790)

Derivation
E-gret'-ta - N.L., egret: no'-vae-hol-land'-i-ae - N.L., of New Holland

Abundance (Guide)
C

Common throughout Australia.

Habitat
Shallow, fresh, brackish or salt-water wetlands, farm dams, pastures, grasslands, crops, shores, saltmarsh, tidal mudflats, boat harbours, beaches, golf-courses, orchards and garden fish ponds.

Range (Guide)

Australia, Christmas Island (B), Indonesia, New Caledonia, New Zealand (B), Norfolk Island, Papua New Guinea, Timor-Leste (B) (NB).

Vagrant to China (mainland), Cocos (Keeling) Islands, Solomon Islands.

Continental Australia generally and Tasmania.

Rarity Status
Currently this species is not classified as a rarity in this country OR information has not been updated.

Population
Estimated population is 25,000 - 1,000,000 (2010).

Status LC
Secure.

For more information see BirdLife International Species Factsheet.

Habits
Singly, in pairs or small flocks.

Food
Yabbies, freshwater snails, frogs and insects.

Voice
Gobbling, gravelly croaks.

(21Kb) © ? (1)

Xeno-Canto Sound Files (more (15)...)

White-faced Heron (Egretta novaehollandiae) [XC816108]
by id from Guyra, Armidale Regional Council, New South Wales, Australia (call)

White-faced Heron (Egretta novaehollandiae) [XC816107]
by Marc Anderson from Guyra, Armidale Regional Council, New South Wales, Australia (call)

Movie

(492Kb) © Tom Tarrant (1)

Breeding Season (Guide)
September - November in the south-east and south-west.

Nest
A platform of sticks, placed in the branches of a tree, sometimes well away from water.

Eggs (Guide)
Up to 7, usually 4; pale blue; oval; about 48 x 35 mm. Incubation: 24 - 26 days; by both sexes.

Young
Semi-altrical, nidicolous. Fledge in about 40 days.

Subspecies
Validity of subspecies parryi uncertain. Birds of New Caledonia sometimes placed in separate subspecies nana.

The following 2 subspecies are recognised:

novaehollandiae (Latham, 1790) - New Zealand, Australia, southern New Guinea, New Caledonia and southern Indonesia; probably in process of colonizing Christmas I (Indian Ocean).
parryi (Mathews, 1912) - North-western Australia.

Similar Species
Dark morph of Eastern Reef Egret (Egretta sacra) which is uniform grey over the entire face and body and also has a more robust bill.

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References
See References.

The Field Guide to the Birds of Australia Pizzey, G., and Knight, E., 1997, Angus & Robertson, Sydney ISBN 0 207 19691 5
Field Guide to Australian Birds Morecombe, M., 2000, Steve Parish Publishing Pty Ltd. ISBN 1 876282 10 X
Field Guide to the Birds of Australia Simpson, K., and Day, N., 1999, 6th Edition, Viking ISBN 0 670 87918 5
Reader's Digest Complete Book of Australian Birds 1988, 2nd Edition, Reader's Digest ISBN 0 949819 99 9
What Bird is That? 1984, Revised Edition, Angus & Robertson, Sydney ISBN 0 207 14846 5
Handbook of Australian, New Zealand & Antarctic Birds 1990 - , Oxford University Press, Melbourne ISBN 0 19 553244 9

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Files:

MPG files for White-faced Heron (Egretta novaehollandiae) - 1 files

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