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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 Herons and Egrets (Ardeidae)_blue
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