Yellow-billed Egret
Ardea brachyrhyncha
A stocky egret that is larger than Western Cattle and Little Egrets, but smaller than the Great Egret. Often confusing and difficult to identify, this bird is truly intermediate between potential confusion species. Things to look for include a yellow bill (brighter during breeding season) that is shorter than Great Egret but longer than Cattle Egret, a relatively rounded head, and shorter legs than Great Egret, approaching Cattle Egret. Like most egret species, associates with all types of water bodies including wet fields, often flocking with other egrets.
识别特征
The yellow-billed egret has a length of 61 to 69 cm (24 to 27 in) and is white, resembling the great egret (A. alba) but differs in having a smaller bill and a gape which does not extend beyond the eye. In breeding plumage the yellow-billed egret grows long plumes on its back and breast and the normally yellow bill becomes orange red. The bill may have a black tip outside the breeding season. The lower legs and toes are dusky while the tibia is paler, becoming pinkish red for a short period during courtship before changing to yellow for the rest of the breeding season. The lores are yellow and, again, these change colour in the breeding season when they become green when the eyes also change from yellow to bright red. The breeding colour of the bare parts reverts to normal soon after the eggs are laid.
分类信息
The yellow-billed egret was first formally described as Herodias brachyrynchus by the German zoologist Alfred Brehm with its type locality given as the Blue Nile (blauen Flusse). This taxon has been regarded as a subspecies of the intermediate egret (Ardea intermedia) but on 26 September 2023 the International Ornithological Congress recognised the three subspecies of A. intermedia as valid species.
- 学名
- Ardea brachyrhyncha
- 命名信息
- (Brehm, AE, 1854)
- 目
- Pelecaniformes
- 科
- Ardeidae
- 属
- Ardea
分布与栖息地
The yellow-billed egret is found in Africa south of the Sahara Desert from southern Mauretania and Sudan south to the Western Cape in South Africa, avoiding areas of desert and dense tropical forest. It has been recorded as a vagrant in the Seychelles and the Cape Verde Islands. The yellow-billed egret is typically encountered in seasonally inundated wetlands and grasslands as well as on the shallow edges of lakes, rivers, salt pans and in estuaries.
- 迁徙
- Resident species
行为
Migration pattern: Resident species.
保护状况
Population trend: declining.
- 种群趋势
- declining
照片
分布
鸟叫声
其他鸟类
Ochre-headed Flycatcher
Myiagra cervinicauda
A small flycatcher. Male is glossy blue-black with a white belly and base of the undertail. Female has a gray head, a deep rufous throat and chest, and a cinnamon back and belly. Common in native forest up to 700 meters of elevation, less common in degraded habitats. Voice is a rasping, repeated “zhay-zhay-zhay.”
Rose-ringed Parakeet
Psittacula krameri
Vibrantly bright green parakeet, frequently found in woodland, parks, and gardens, where it feeds mainly in trees. Nests in cavities, including holes in buildings. Easily overlooked if quiet, as the bright green plumage blends easily with foliage. Note the very long slender tail and bright red bill; male has narrow black-and-pink neck ring. Closely resembles the larger Alexandrine Parakeet, which has a wine-red patch on each shoulder. Like other parakeets, raucous and social, often appearing in noisy groups giving sharp screeching calls. Native to Africa and South Asia, introduced locally around the world, from Europe and the Caribbean to Japan and Hawaii.
Green Pheasant
Phasianus versicolor
Endemic to Japan and the national bird. The male is striking with bottle-green underparts, purplish-blue neck and head with red facial skin. Upperparts are intricately patterned brown and powder-gray with a long, pointed tail. Females are entirely brown with spotted and scalloped pattern. Inhabits fields, hedgerows, and brushy areas. Female could be confused with female copper pheasant although that species is more tied to forest. Male gives a far-carrying “ko-kyok!” followed by a noisy wing flutter. Flushes loudly with an explosion of wings and hoarse calls.
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