Reddish Egret

Reddish Egret, dark morph

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Reddish Egret, white morph

Reddish Egret, dark morph, hunting behavior

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1. Description
2. Similar Species
3. Sound
4. Range
5. Other Names

A medium to large heron of shallow salt water, the Reddish Egret comes in a dark and a white form. It is a very active forager, often seen running, jumping, and spinning in its pursuit of fish.

Description

• Size: 70-80 cm (28-31 in)
• Weight: 700-850 g (24.71-30.01 ounces)

• Medium to large heron.
• Bill pink at base, black at tip.
• Dark phase all dark gray with a reddish neck.
• White form all white with two-toned bill and dark grey legs.

Sex Differences

Sexes look alike.

Immature

Similar to adult, but dark phase paler and more washed out.

Similar Species

• Tricolored Heron is slightly smaller and thinner, and has white belly, white line down throat, and white head plumes.
• Little Blue Heron has less reddish neck and head, sleeker neck feathers, and a bluish base to the bill.
• White morph resembles other white herons. Snowy Egret is smaller and more slender, has black bill, yellow feet, and yellow skin in front of eyes.
• Great Egret is larger, has a mostly yellow bill, and deep black legs.
• Great White Heron, the white form of the Great Blue Heron, is much larger, and has a heavier bill without a dark tip.
• Immature Little Blue Heron has a dark-tipped bill, but the base is grayish, the legs are green, and the neck is more slender and not shaggy.
• Cattle Egret is much shorter and stockier, has a thick, usually yellow bill, and often has a reddish wash over the head, back, and chest.

Sound

Quiet away from breeding colony. Soft groan and grunt.

Range

Range Map

© 2004 Cornell Lab of Ornithology

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Summer Range

Resident in Florida, Texas, Mexico, the Caribbean, and north coast of South America.

Other Names

Aigrette roussâtre (French)
Garza rojiza, Garza melenuda, Garza piquirrosa (Spanish)

Sources used to construct this page:

Lowther, P. E., and R. T. Paul. 2002. Reddish Egret (Egretta rufescens). In The Birds of North America, No. 633 (A. Poole and F. Gill, eds.). The Birds of North America, Inc., Philadelphia, PA.