What kind of waterfowl does the egret belong to?

Egrets are 13 species, four of which are all white, namely, big egret, middle egret, egret (little egret) and snow egret, which are called egrets in the world. The great egret is large in size, with neither crown feather nor breastplate feather, while the middle egret is medium in size, with no crown feather but breastplate feather; Egrets and snow herons are very small, and all their feathers are on the crest and chest. The crown feathers and withering feathers of egrets during the breeding period can be used for decoration, commonly known as egret silk hair, and are often exported to Europe, America and all over the world.

Species characteristics

Description: medium-sized egret (60 cm). It is different from the cattle egret in that it is large and slender, with black mouth and legs, yellow toes, pure white breeding feathers, slender neck and back feathers, and spiny feathers on the back and chest.

Iris yellow; The exposed skin on the face is yellow-green, and the breeding period is pale pink; Black mouth; Legs and feet-black, yellow toes.

Cry: croak in the breeding nest, and be silent at other times.

Distribution: Africa, Europe, Asia and Oceania.

Distribution: Named subspecies are common resident birds and migratory birds, distributed in southern China, Taiwan Province Province and Hainan Island. Lost birds sometimes go to Beijing. Some birds spend the winter in the tropics in winter.

Habits: I like rice fields, river banks, beaches, mudflats and coastal streams. Eating in groups, often mixed with other species. Sometimes fly over the shallow coastal waters to chase prey. Fly back to their habitat in a "V" formation at night. Gather together and nest with other waterfowl.

Common names: White Crane, White Crane, Bai Niao hoe, Little Egret, Egret, Siqin, Little Egret, Snowman and a glass of Egret.

Extended data

Demographic situation

The great egret belongs to the species listed in the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora. It has been included in the Agreement between People's Republic of China (PRC) and Japanese Governments on the Protection of Migratory Birds and Their Habitats. Egret is the most common kind of egret, commonly known as egret, which belongs to the list of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora. Yellow-billed egret and rock heron are both national second-class key protected animals. The yellow-billed egret is an internationally endangered species.

Rock heron is one of the highly endangered birds in China 1 1, and it is a rare bird in China, which is in an endangered state. The rock heron has been listed in the Annex List of the Agreement between People's Republic of China (PRC) and Australian Government on the Protection of Migratory Birds and Habitats, and the yellow-billed egret is a new species collected by Robert Swinhoe (UK) in Xiamen on 1860. This species has been listed in the List of Terrestrial Wild Animals under National Key Protection or with Important Economic and Scientific Research Value issued by the State Forestry Administration in August 2000 1.

Growth and reproduction

The breeding season is from May to July every year, and nests are built on islands near the coast and rocks hanging along the coast or between short branches. I like to build nests together in groups. Someone once found 14 nests on a rock top with only about 20 square meters of hanging rock, and there were 1 1 nests on an adjacent rock top with only 10 square meters of hanging rock, and the distance between each nest was only 14 ~ 76 cm.

Once upon a time, in Taiwan Province Province, there was a phenomenon that yellow-billed egrets and egrets, cattle-backed egrets, night herons and herons mixed to nest in groups. Its nest is shallow dish-shaped and simple in structure, mainly composed of hay stems and grass leaves. Nests are built on short trees, and the maximum height from the ground is no more than 1 m, and some nests are built in the grass under short trees. Each nest lays 2 ~ 4 eggs, which are oval and light blue. The incubation period is 24 ~ 26 days.

The yellow-billed egret was once a common summer migratory bird along the southern coast of China, especially in the coastal areas from Shantou, Guangdong to Fuzhou, Fujian. It was also seen in the Yalu River in the northeast and Hunchun in the east of Jilin Province in the 1960s. In the early 1980s, more than 200 ~ 300 pairs of nesting populations were found in Liaodong Peninsula and coastal islands, and it was often possible.

At the seaside, dozens of large groups were seen foraging in the waters near the coast. However, due to the destruction of the environment and human interference, especially because its pure white hairy feathers and withered feathers are extremely precious decorations, a large number of them are hunted every year, so the population has decreased obviously recently. Therefore, its number is decreasing day by day, which has become very rare.

According to the midwinter waterfowl survey in Asia organized by 1990 and 1992, 1992 saw only 143 waterfowl in China and 448 in Southeast Asia. At present, the yellow-billed egret has been listed in the Red Book of Endangered Birds in the World by the International Committee for the Protection of Birds (ICBP) and listed as a national second-class protected animal in China.

Baidu Encyclopedia-Egret (commonly known as four kinds of egrets)

Baidu Encyclopedia-Egret (a bird of Egret)