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Reddish Egret

Egretta rufescensOrder: CICONIIFORMESFamily: Bitterns, Herons and Egrets (Ardeidae)

Reddish Egret Portrait_2
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General

Reddish Egret: Medium-sized egret with blue-gray body and shaggy, pale rufous head and neck. Bill is pink with dark tip. Legs are blue-gray. White morph has all-white plumage, black-tipped pink bill, and blue-gray legs. Sexes are similar. Juvenile of both forms is duller, has black bill.

Range and Habitat

Reddish Egret: Locally resident in extreme southern Florida and along the Gulf Coast of Texas and Louisiana; also occurs in Mexico and the West Indies. Preferred habitats include marshes, shallow bays, and lagoons.

Listen to Call

Voice Text

Generally silent

Interesting Facts

  • Reddish Egret populations were devastated by commercial hunting in the late 1800s and early 1900s, when they were sought for their beautiful feathers.
  • While populations have been recovering during the past century, this species is now threatened by the degradation and destruction of its preferred coastal habitat.
  • According to the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department, there are only 1,500 to 2,000 nesting pairs of reddish egrets in the United States.
  • A group of egrets has many collective nouns, including a "congregation", "heronry", "RSVP", "skewer", and "wedge" of egrets.


Author

Gary Owen Dick

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Range Map for Reddish Egret
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Bird Call Credits: The Macaulay Library of Natural Sounds at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology. Martyn Stewart, http://www.naturesound.org, Redmond, Washington USA. The reuse or copying of bird calls in this database is strictly forbidden.
Family
Species Egretta rufescens
Length27 - 32 Inches
Wingspan46 Inches

Reddish Egret

Reddish Egret: Medium egret with blue-gray body and shaggy, pale rufous head and neck. Bill is pink with dark tip. Legs are blue-gray. White morph has all-white plumage, black-tipped pink bill, and blue-gray legs. Feeds on fish, frogs and crustaceans. Direct flight with bouyant steady wing beats.

● Song: Generally silent

● Foraging & Feeding: Reddish Egret: Eats fish, frogs, and crustaceans. Forages by wading rapidly in shallow water with wings raised, casting a shadow to cut down on glare.

● Breeding & nesting: Reddish Egret: Two to seven pale blue-green eggs are laid in a stick nest built in a mangrove, low bush, or on the ground. Incubation ranges from 25 to 26 days and is carried out by both parents.

● Similar species: Reddish Egret: Little Blue Heron is smaller, has gray-based bill, and lacks the shaggy neck. Tricolored Heron has a white belly. Other egrets and white herons do not have black-tipped pink bills and blue-gray legs.

Flight Pattern

Direct flight with buoyant steady wing beats.
Reddish Egret Body Illustration_2
● Range & Habitat: Reddish Egret: Locally resident in extreme southern Florida and along the Gulf Coast of Texas and Louisiana; also occurs in Mexico and the West Indies. Preferred habitats include marshes, shallow bays, and lagoons.
BreedingMonogamous, Colonial
PopulationRare to uncommon, Increasing gradually
MigrationSome migrate
Weight15.9 Ounces