| Egretta Temporal range:Late Miocene to present | |
|---|---|
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| White-faced heron,Egretta novaehollandiae | |
Scientific classification | |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Aves |
| Order: | Pelecaniformes |
| Family: | Ardeidae |
| Subfamily: | Ardeinae |
| Genus: | Egretta T. Forster, 1817 |
| Type species | |
| Ardea garzetta[1] Linnaeus, 1766 | |
| Species | |
See text. | |
Egretta is agenus of medium-sizedherons, mostly breeding in warmer climates.
Representatives of this genus are found in most of the world, and thelittle egret, as well as being widespread throughout much of theOld World, has now started to colonise the Americas.
These are typicalegrets in shape, long-necked and long-legged. A few plumage features are shared, although several have plumes in breeding plumage; a number of species are either white in all plumages, have a white morph (e.g.reddish egret), or have a white juvenile plumage (little blue heron).
The breedinghabitat ofEgretta herons is marshy wetlands in warm regions. They nest incolonies, often with other wading birds, usually on platforms of sticks in trees or shrubs.
These herons feed oninsects,fish, andamphibians, caught normally by cautious stalking.
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The genusEgretta was introduced in 1817 by the German naturalistJohann Reinhold Forster with thelittle egret as thetype species.[2][3] The genus name comes from theProvençal French for thelittle egret,aigrette, a diminutive ofaigron, "heron".[4]
As with other heron groupings, the taxonomy of these birds has been a source of dispute. Some of these species have been placed with the great herons inArdea, and conversely, the large white species such as thegreat egret are occasionally allocated toEgretta. The fact that some members of the genus have common names of "heron" and some of "egret" , causes further confusion in differentiating between this genus andArdea.
The genus contains 13 species:[5]
| Image | Scientific name | Common Name | Distribution |
|---|---|---|---|
 | Egretta picata | Pied heron | Australia, Wallacea and New Guinea. |
.jpg) | Egretta novaehollandiae | White-faced heron | of Australasia, New Guinea, the islands of Torres Strait, Indonesia, New Zealand |
 | Egretta rufescens | Reddish egret | Central America, The Bahamas, the Caribbean, the Gulf Coast of the United States, and Mexico. |
.jpg) | Egretta ardesiaca | Black heron | Sub-Saharan Africa, from Senegal and Sudan to South Africa, Madagascar |
.jpg) | Egretta vinaceigula | Slaty egret | south-central Africa. |
 | Egretta tricolor | Tricolored heron, Louisiana heron | Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean, to northern South America as far south as Brazil. |
.jpg) | Egretta caerulea | Little blue heron | United States, through Central America and the Caribbean south to Peru and Uruguay |
.jpg) | Egretta thula | Snowy egret | North, Central and South America. |
.jpg) | Egretta garzetta | Little egret | Europe, Africa, Asia, and Australia. |
.jpg) | Egretta gularis | Western reef heron | southern Europe, Africa and parts of Asia |
_white_morph.jpg) | Egretta dimorpha | Dimorphic egret | Comoros, Kenya, Madagascar, Mayotte, Seychelles, and Tanzania. |
_(16354037192).jpg) | Egretta sacra | Pacific reef heron, Pacific reef egret, or eastern reef heron | southern Asia and Oceania. |
 | Egretta eulophotes | Chinese egret | east Asia. |
Afossil species,Egretta subfluvia, is known from the LateMiocene or EarlyPliocene ofFlorida.
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Authority control databases: National |
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