White-bellied Heron
Ardea insignis
Large, imperious stone-gray heron, very locally distributed and extremely rare. Note dark gray wings, pale throat patch, and white belly. Shows strong black-and-white contrast on the underwing when in flight. Inhabits waterside areas surrounded by mature broadleaf forests in foothill and mountainous areas; particularly favors pristine mountain rivers and streams. Declining due to habitat degradation.
Identification
The white-bellied heron has a uniform dark grey plumage, a whitish belly, and long silvery or whitish plumes on the rear crown and lower foreneck. In breeding plumage, it has a greyish-white nape plume and elongated grey breast feathers with white centers. The face is greenish grey and the 15.2–17.6 cm (6.0–6.9 in) long bill black, but greenish near the base and tip; the iris is yellow to ochre, and the legs and feet are dull grey. Juveniles are browner above and have a paler bill and paler legs. In flight, it has a uniform dark grey upperwing and white underwing covert feathers contrasting with dark grey flight feathers. The rump appears pale grey.<p>With a height of 127 cm (50 in), it is the second largest heron. A white-bellied heron killed by the upper Ayeyarwady River in 1903 had 61 cm (24 in) long wing bones, a wing spread of 100 cm (40 in) and a wingspan of 210 cm (84 in). Its mean weight is estimated at 3.2–3.4 kg (7.1–7.5 lb).
Taxonomy
The scientific name Ardea insignis was suggested by Brian Houghton Hodgson in 1844; he had presented a zoological specimen to the British Museum but a description was not published. This name was therefore considered a nomen nudum. In 1878, Allan Octavian Hume described the differences between the white-bellied and the great-billed heron (Ardea sumatrana) while using the binomial name suggested by Hodgson. E. C. Stuart Baker gave the name Ardea imperialis in 1929 to replace Hodgson's nomen nudum. It was used until 1963, when Biswamoy Biswas commented on Sidney Dillon Ripley's synoptic list and noted that Ardea insignis Hume had priority, and its treatment as a synonym of Ardea nobilis Blyth and Ardea sumatrana Raffles was based on misidentification.
- Scientific name
- Ardea insignis
- Authority
- Hume, 1878
- Order
- Pelecaniformes
- Family
- Ardeidae
- Genus
- Ardea
Range and habitat
The white-bellied heron inhabits the wetlands of tropical and subtropical forests in the foothills of the eastern Himalayas of northeast India and Myanmar. It also occurs in Bhutan's low elevation riparian environments below 1,700 m (5,600 ft).<p>In Bhutan, it inhabits the basin of Sankosh River and its tributaries below 1,500 m (4,900 ft). It was observed breeding in the Sankosh and Mangdechhu river basins; nests were found in chir pine (Pinus roxburghii), champak (Magnolia champaca) and bayur trees (Pterospermum acerifolium) at elevations of 400–1,430 m (1,310–4,690 ft).In Assam, it was sighted several times in Kaziranga National Park during the winter seasons of 1994 and 1995. In Pobitora Wildlife Sanctuary, it was sighted regularly between 1996 and 2001. In Arunachal Pradesh, repeated sightings along Namdapha and Noa Dihing Rivers indicate that Namdapha National Park is an important refuge and breeding site.In northern Myanmar, it was observed along four streams in the Hkakabo Razi landscape between March 2016 and December 2020.
- Migration
- Resident species
Behavior
Migration pattern: Resident species.
Conservation
Population trend: declining.
- Population trend
- declining
Photos
Distribution
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