Day heron

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Day heron
Gray heron (ardea cinerea)

Gray heron ( ardea cinerea )

Systematics
Class : Birds (aves)
Order : Pelecaniformes
Family : Herons (Ardeidae)
Subfamily : Day heron
Scientific name
Ardeinae
Leach , 1820
Black heron

The day herons (Ardeinae) are the most species-rich subfamily in the heron family. Day herons are widespread almost all over the world and are only absent in the very cold regions of the world.

Features of appearance

The subfamily includes some very large and long-necked species, most of which are assigned to the genera Ardea and Egretta . The Goliath heron , which belongs to the genus Ardea , is the largest recent heron in the world with a height of 135 to 150 centimeters. Other species remain significantly smaller and have a significantly stronger and shorter-necked physique. These include, among other things, the genus of the Schopfreiher and Gorsachius . The typical representatives of these short-necked day heron species include the mangrove heron , which is only 40 to 60 centimeters tall. The plumage is very variable and ranges from white to gray to brown tones.

habitat

The habitat of the day herons are predominantly wetlands. They are found mainly on shallow lakes and in swamps, but also on rivers, mangroves and even on the coast of the sea. The gray heron , one of the best-known representatives of the day heron in Central Europe, is a habitat generalist. They only need a proximity to waters with shallow water zones, relatively large prey and four to five months in which the waters do not freeze over. Some species are significantly less dependent on proximity to water. The East Asian wavy heron also occurs at the edges of water. Its preferred habitat, however, are subtropical rainforests, where it hunts frogs and earthworms on the forest floor. The best-known example of a heron species that is not bound to water is the cattle egret , which lives in grasslands and savannahs and has no significant connection to water.

Way of life and existence

The diet of the day heron consists mainly of fish, frogs and other small animals that are bound to the water in their way of life. Most species breed in colonies and build their nests in trees. The northern species such as the gray heron , the great blue heron and the purple heron migrate south in winter. In the case of the gray heron and great blue heron, however, this migratory movement only takes place in areas where the water freezes.

The population development of the individual day heron species is very different. The numbers of the gray heron have increased overall and some of them are even hunted. The species in the genus Gorsachius are among the least explored species of heron. The grove is also considered to be the rarest species of heron in the world. Even the Rotscheitelreiher is by the IUCN as endangered ( endangered classified).

Systematics

In the 20th century it became customary to divide the family into the subfamilies of the real herons (Ardeinae) and the tommels (Botaurinae). Payne and Risley, on the other hand, distinguished four lines in 1976: the great day heron (Ardeinae), the small night heron (Nycticoracinae), the tiger heron (Tigrisomatinae) and the bobble (Botaurinae) - a system that has often been quoted and adopted.

In contrast, in 2005 Kushlan & Hancock put the day and night herons back together in the common subfamily of the day herons. A total of three tribes are assigned to this subfamily:

Sources and further information

Web links

Commons : Day Heron (Ardeinae)  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Kushlan et al., P. 284 and p. 285
  2. ↑ Kushlan et al., P. 278
  3. ^ RB Payne & CJ Risley: Systematics and evolutionary relationships among the herons . In: Miscellaneous Publications, Museum of Zoology, University of Michigan 1976, No. 150, pp. 1-115

literature

  • Josep del Hoyo et al .: Handbook of the Birds of the World. Volume 1: Ostrich to Ducks. Lynx Edicions, 1992, ISBN 8487334105 .
  • James A. Kushlan & James A. Hancock: Herons . Oxford University Press, 2005, ISBN 0198549814