Information
There are two plumage colour forms; an all-white morph and a dark grey morph; intermediate morphs also occur. The white morph is similar in general appearance to the Little Egret (Egretta garzetta), but has a thicker bill, duller legs, and a less elegant appearance. The grey morph is unlikely to be confused with any other species within the range of this egret.
Habitat
Rocky or sandy shores and reefs. Also other coastal habitats such as estuaries, mudflats, saltmarshes, mangroves, tidal creeks and lagoons. From sea-level - 300 m.
Bahrain (B) (P), Burkina Faso (B), Cameroon, Côte dIvoire, Djibouti, Egypt, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Gabon, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-bissau (B), India, Iran [Islamic Republic of] (B) (NB), Iraq (B), Israel, Jordan (NB), Kenya, Kuwait, Liberia, Mali, Mauritania, Morocco, Nigeria, Oman (B) (NB), Pakistan, Qatar, Sâo Tomé e Principe, Saudi Arabia (B) (NB), Senegal (B), Sierra Leone, Somalia, Sri Lanka, Sudan, Tanzania [United Republic of], Togo, United Arab Emirates (B) (NB) (P), USA, Yemen (P).
Vagrant to Anguilla, Antigua And Barbuda, Barbados, Bulgaria, Cape Verde, Dominica, Ethiopia, France, Greece, Guadeloupe, Martinique, Montserrat, Portugal, Puerto Rico, Rwanda, South Africa, Spain, St Kitts And Nevis, St Lucia, St Vincent and The Grenadines, Trinidad and Tobago, Uganda.
Western Reef Heron (Egretta gularis) [XC740763]
by Frank Lambert from King Abdullah University Of Science And Technology, Jiddah, Makkah Province, Saudi Arabia (flight call)
Western Reef Heron (Egretta gularis) [XC44527]
by Alok Tewari from Barr al Hikman: Shannah area, Oman (flight call)
Breeding Season (Guide)
Does not breed in Australia.
J
F
M
A
M
J
J
A
S
O
N
D
Nest
A platforms of sticks and seaweed, on the ground, in trees or shrubs. In solitary pairs or small colonies.
Subspecies
Possibly three subspecies, but this is open to discussion.
Little Egret (Egretta garzetta) and Dimorphic Egret (Egretta dimorpha) (Sibley and Monroe 1990, 1993) have been lumped into Egretta garzetta following Kushlan and Hancock (2005) who also lump Western Reef Egret (Egretta gularis) with Egretta garzetta. The latter treatment is under review by the BirdLife Taxonomic Working Group.
Considered by some authors to be a subspecies of Little Egret (Egretta garzetta).
The following 3 subspecies are recognised:
gularis (Bosc, 1792) - Coastal western Africa, from Mauritania to Gabon. Considered by some authors to be a subspecies of Little Egret (Egretta garzetta).
dimorpha Hartert, 1914 - Eastern, Madagascar. Considered by some authors to be a distinct species, Dimorphic Egret (Egretta dimorpha).
schistacea (Hemprich and Ehrenberg, 1828) - Coastal eastern Africa to Red Sea, Persian Gulf, western, southern and south-eastern India. Considered by some authors to be a subspecies of Little Egret (Egretta garzetta).
Similar Species
White morph with Little Egret (Egretta garzetta) which has a thinner bill and darker legs.
Compare Images
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
BirdLife International Species Factsheet