Red heron
Red heron | ||||||||||||
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Red heron |
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Systematics | ||||||||||||
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Scientific name | ||||||||||||
Egretta Rufescens | ||||||||||||
( Gmelin , 1789) |
The Reddish Egret ( Egretta rufescens ) is a bird art from the family of herons .
features
The red heron is a rather dainty heron with a body length of about 70 cm. It appears in a light and a dark morph . The dark blue heron is easy to confuse with the blue heron . Her plumage is also mostly blue-gray, but the neck and head are red-brown in color. However, the throat and chest are white. The light morph is almost entirely white in color. The legs and beak are gray or gray-blue in color.
Occurrence
Its habitat are the warm to subtropical swamps of southern North and North Central America . It breeds in Mexico , the southwestern United States, and some Caribbean islands such as Cuba , Jamaica, and Hispaniola .
behavior
The red heron is predominantly crepuscular. It often breeds in the company of other herons. Its nest consists of sticks and twigs and is built on trees or high bushes. In this the female lays three to seven green-blue eggs . In search of food, however, the red heron goes solitary. In the evening he walks through damp meadows and shallow waters in search of fish , amphibians , crustaceans and insects .
Subspecies
There are two known subspecies:
- E. r. rufescens ( JF Gmelin , 1789) - The nominate form occurs in the southern United States , the West Indies, and Mexico .
- E. r. dickeyi ( van Rossem , 1926) - This subspecies is common in Baja California .
Etymology and history of research
The red heron was first described by Johann Friedrich Gmelin as Ardea rufescens in 1789 . He gave Louisiana as the location of the type specimen . It was not until 1817 that Thomas Ignatius Maria Forster introduced the genus Egretta for the little egret ( Egretta garzetta ). Only later was the red heron included in the genus. This name comes from the French aigrette for "heron". The specific epithet rufescens, rufescere, rufus is of Latin origin and means "reddish, become red, red". Dickeyi is dedicated to Donald Ryder Dickey (1887–1932).
literature
- Bernhard Grzimek : Grzimeks Tierleben , Vol. 7 . Kindler, Munich 1993, ISBN 3-463-16907-X (reprint of the Zurich edition 1968).
- Mary B. Dickinson (Ed.): Field Guide to Birds of North America. 3rd ed. National Geographic Society , Washington DC 1999, ISBN 0-7922-7451-2 .
- David Sibley: The North American Bird Guide. Helm Books, London 2007, ISBN 978-0-7136-8995-2 (EA London 2000).
- Johann Friedrich Gmelin: Systema Naturae per Regna Tria Naturae, Secundum Classes, Ordines, Genera, Species, Cum Characteribus, Differentiis, Synonymis, Locis . tape 1 , no. 2 . Georg Emanuel Beer, Leipzig 1789 ( online [accessed March 20, 2015]).
- Adriaan Joseph van Rossem: The Lower California Reddish Egret . In: The Condor . tape 28 , no. 5 , 1926, pp. 246 (English, online [PDF; 81 kB ; accessed on March 20, 2015]).
- James A. Jobling: Helm Dictionary of Scientific Bird Names . Christopher Helm, London 2010, ISBN 978-1-4081-2501-4 .
- Thomas Ignatius Maria Forster: A synoptical catalog of British birds; intended to identify the species mentioned by different names in several catalogs already extant. Forming a book of reference to Observations on British ornithology . Printed by and for Nichols, son, and Bentley, London 1817 ( online [accessed March 20, 2015]).
Web links
- Videos, photos and sound recordings of Egretta rufescens in the Internet Bird Collection
- Egretta rufescens in the endangered Red List species the IUCN 2011. Posted by: BirdLife International, 2009. Accessed November 17, 2011th
- Factsheet from the Patuxent Wildlife Research Center