{{Short description|Species of bird}} {{Use American English|date=May 2014}} {{Speciesbox | name = Reddish egret | image = ReddishEgret Gam.jpg | image_caption = Reddish egret in breeding plumage at Fort Desoto, Florida, US | status = NT | status_system = IUCN3.1 | status_ref = <ref name="iucn status 12 November 2021">{{cite iucn |author=BirdLife International |date=2020 |title=''Egretta rufescens'' |volume=2020 |article-number=e.T22696916A154076472 |doi=10.2305/IUCN.UK.2020-3.RLTS.T22696916A154076472.en |access-date=12 November 2021}}</ref> | genus = Egretta | species = rufescens | authority = (Gmelin, 1789) | range_map = Egretta rufescens map.svg | range_map_caption = {{leftlegend|Yellow|Breeding}}{{leftlegend|Green|Year-round}}{{leftlegend|Blue|Nonbreeding}} |synonyms=* ''Ardea rufescens'' <small>Gmelin, 1789</small> * ''Dichromanassa rufescens'' <small>(Gmelin, 1789)</small> * ''Hydranassa rufescens'' subsp. ''rufescens'' <small>Stotz et al., 1996</small> |synonyms_ref=<ref>{{GBIF|taxon=''Egretta rufescens'' (Gmelin, 1789)|id=2480888|access-date=25 March 2023}}</ref> }}
The '''reddish egret''' ('''''Egretta rufescens''''') is a medium-sized heron that is a resident breeder in Central America, the Bahamas, the Caribbean, the Gulf Coast of the United States (primarily Texas), and Mexico. The egret is known for its unusual foraging behavior compared to other herons as well as its association with mud flats, its habitat of choice.
In the past, this bird was a victim of the plume trade and is North America's "rarest and least studied ardeid."<ref name=":0" />
==Taxonomy== The reddish egret was formally described in 1789 by the German naturalist Johann Friedrich Gmelin in his revised and expanded edition of Carl Linnaeus's ''Systema Naturae''. He placed it with the herons, cranes and egrets in the genus ''Ardea'' and coined the binomial name ''Ardea rufescens''.<ref>{{ cite book | last=Gmelin | first=Johann Friedrich | author-link=Johann Friedrich Gmelin| year=1789 | title=Systema naturae per regna tria naturae: secundum classes, ordines, genera, species, cum characteribus, differentiis, synonymis, locis | edition=13th | volume=1, Part 1 | language=Latin | location=Lipsiae [Leipzig] | publisher=Georg. Emanuel. Beer | page=628 | url=https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/page/2656121 }}</ref> Gmelin based his description on that of the English ornithologist John Latham who in 1785 had included the species in his multi-volume ''A General Synopsis of Birds''.<ref>{{ cite book | last=Latham | first=John | author-link=John Latham (ornithologist) | year=1785 | title=A General Synopsis of Birds | volume=3, Part 1 | publisher=Printed for Leigh and Sotheby | location=London | page=88, No. 56 | url=https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/page/40078847 }}</ref> Latham had in turn based his own description on the "L'Aigrette rousse, de la Louisiane" that the French polymath Comte de Buffon had described and illustrated in his {{Lang|fr|Histoire Naturelle des Oiseaux}}.<ref>{{ cite book | last=Buffon | first=Georges-Louis Leclerc de | author-link=Georges-Louis Leclerc, Comte de Buffon | year=1780 | title=Histoire Naturelle des Oiseaux | volume=7 | location=Paris | publisher=De l'Imprimerie Royale | page=378 | chapter=L'Aigrette rousse | language=French | chapter-url=https://gallica.bnf.fr/ark:/12148/bpt6k1069720s/f444.item }}</ref><ref>{{ cite book | last1=Buffon | first1=Georges-Louis Leclerc de | author1-link=Georges-Louis Leclerc, Comte de Buffon | last2=Martinet | first2=François-Nicolas | author2-link=François-Nicolas Martinet | last3=Daubenton | first3=Edme-Louis | author3-link=Edme-Louis Daubenton | last4=Daubenton | first4=Louis-Jean-Marie | author4-link=Louis-Jean-Marie Daubenton | year=1765–1783 | chapter=L'Aigrette rousse, de la Louisiane | title=Planches Enluminées D'Histoire Naturelle | volume=10 | location=Paris | publisher=De L'Imprimerie Royale | at=Plate 902 | chapter-url=https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/page/35223549 }}</ref> The reddish egret is now placed with 12 other species in the genus ''Egretta'' that was introduced in 1817 by the German naturalist Johann Reinhold Forster.<ref>{{ cite book | last=Forster | first=T. | author-link=Thomas Ignatius Maria Forster | year=1817 | title=A Synoptical Catalogue of British Birds; intended to identify the species mentioned by different names in several catalogues already extant. Forming a book of reference to Observations on British ornithology | publisher=Nichols, son, and Bentley | location=London | page=59 | url=https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/page/13330976}}</ref><ref name=ioc>{{cite web| editor1-last=Gill | editor1-first=Frank | editor1-link=Frank Gill (ornithologist) | editor2-last=Donsker | editor2-first=David | editor3-last=Rasmussen | editor3-first=Pamela | editor3-link=Pamela Rasmussen | date=August 2022 | title=Ibis, spoonbills, herons, Hamerkop, Shoebill, pelicans | work=IOC World Bird List Version 12.2 | url=https://www.worldbirdnames.org/bow/pelicans/ | publisher=International Ornithologists' Union | access-date=28 November 2022 }}</ref> The genus name comes from the Provençal French word for the little egret, {{Lang|oci|aigrette}}, a diminutive of {{Lang|oci|aigron}}, "heron". The specific epithet ''rufescens'' is Latin meaning "reddish".<ref>{{cite book | last=Jobling | first=James A. | year=2010| title=The Helm Dictionary of Scientific Bird Names | publisher=Christopher Helm | location=London | isbn=978-1-4081-2501-4 | pages=[https://archive.org/stream/Helm_Dictionary_of_Scientific_Bird_Names_by_James_A._Jobling#page/n143/mode/1up 143], [https://archive.org/stream/Helm_Dictionary_of_Scientific_Bird_Names_by_James_A._Jobling#page/n341/mode/1up 341]}}</ref>
Two subspecies are recognised:<ref name=ioc/> * ''E. r. rufescens'' (Gmelin 1789) – south US, West Indies and Mexico * ''E. r. dickeyi'' (Van Rossem, 1926) – Baja California (Mexico)
==Description== thumb|left|Adult white morph This species reaches {{convert|68|-|82|cm|in|abbr=on}} in length, with a {{convert|116|-|125|cm|in|abbr=on}} wingspan.<ref name=TPWD/><ref name=WAZA/> Body mass in this species can range from {{convert|364|-|870|g|lb|abbr=on}}.<ref name=AAB/> Among standard linear measurements, the wing chord is {{convert|29|-|34.3|cm|in|abbr=on}}, the tail is {{convert|8.8|-|13|cm|in|abbr=on}}, the bill is {{convert|7.3|-|9.2|cm|in|abbr=on}} and the tarsus is {{convert|11.7|-|14.7|cm|in|abbr=on}}.<ref name=BNA/> It is a medium-sized, long-legged, long-necked heron with a long pointed pinkish bill with a black tip. It is distinctly larger than other co-existing members of the genus ''Egretta'', but smaller than the great blue heron and great egret. The legs and feet are bluish-black. While the sexes are similar, there are two distinct color morphs. The adult dark morph has a slate blue body and reddish head and neck with shaggy plumes. The adult white morph has entirely white body plumage. Young birds have a brown body, head, and neck. During mating, the male's plumage stands out in a ruff on its head, neck and back. The bird's usual cry is a low, guttural croak.
==Behavior== The reddish egret is considered one of the most active herons, and is often seen on the move.<ref name=":0">{{Cite journal |last1=Koczur |first1=Lianne M. |last2=Green |first2=M. Clay |last3=Ballard |first3=Bart M. |last4=Lowther |first4=Peter E. |last5=Paul |first5=Richard T. |date=2020 |editor-last=Rodewald|editor-first=P.G.|title=Reddish Egret (Egretta rufescens), version 1.0 |url=https://birdsoftheworld.org/bow/species/redegr/cur/introduction|url-access=subscription|journal=Birds of the World |publisher=Cornell Lab of Ornithology|location=Ithaca, New York|language=en |doi=10.2173/bow.redegr.01}}</ref> It stalks its prey (fish, frogs, crustaceans, and insects) in shallow water, typically near mud flats, while frequently running energetically and using the shadow of its wings to reduce glare on the water once it is in position to spear its prey.<ref name=":0" /> Due to its bold, rapacious yet graceful feeding behavior and its typical proximity to mud flats, author Pete Dunne nicknamed the reddish egret "the ''Tyrannosaurus rex'' of the Flats".<ref name=Dunne/>{{rp|135}}
===Breeding=== The reddish egret is a resident breeder in Central America, The Bahamas, the Caribbean, the Gulf Coast of the United States, and Mexico.<ref name="BirdLife" /> Its breeding habitat is tropical swamps. It nests in colonies, often with other herons, usually on platforms of sticks in trees or shrubs.<ref name=AAB/> These colonies are usually located on coastal islands.{{citation needed|date=March 2023}} In Texas, however, these nests are often built on the ground, sometimes on oyster shell beaches.<ref name=TPWD/> These birds have raucous courtship displays. They generally involve shaking of the head during the greeting ceremony, followed by chases and circle flights. They also involve raising of the neck, back and crest feathers, accompanied by bill clacking,<ref name=AAB/> similar to the tricolored heron (''Egretta tricolor'').<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.heronconservation.org/herons-of-the-world/list-of-herons/tricolored-heron/|title=Tricolored Heron|website=HeronConservation|year=2023|location=Key Biscayne, Florida|access-date=25 March 2023}}</ref>
According to the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department, there are only 1,500 to 2,000 nesting pairs of reddish egrets in the United States—and most of these are in Texas.<ref name="TPWD" /> They are classified as "threatened" in Texas and receive special protection.<ref name="TPWD" />
==Gallery== <gallery> File:Reddish Egret Canopy Hunting.jpg|Canopy hunting File:Reddish Egret & Snowy Egret - Long Key State Park, Florida.jpg|With great egret at Long Key State Park File:Reddish Egret - Long Key State Park.jpg|At Long Key State Park File:Reddish Egret Mix morph.jpg|Intermediate morph in Jacksonville, Florida File:Reddish egret fishing.png|Fishing the mangroves, Lac Cai, Bonaire File:Reddish Egret Canopy Fishing (1 of 1).jpg|Canopy fishing, Lac Cai, Bonaire File:Reddish Egret 3865.jpg|Reddish Egret (Bolsa Chica Wetlands, Huntington Beach, California) </gallery>
==Predation== In Florida, reddish egrets may be eaten by some growth stage of invasive snakes like Burmese pythons, reticulated pythons, Southern African rock pythons, Central African rock pythons, boa constrictors, yellow anacondas, Bolivian anacondas, dark-spotted anacondas, and green anacondas.<ref>{{Cite book|title=Final Environmental Assessment For The Large Constrictor Snakes Listed As Injurious Wildlife under the Lacey Act|date=January 2012|publisher=U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service}}</ref>
==References== {{Reflist|refs=
<ref name=BirdLife>{{cite web |url=https://datazone.birdlife.org/species/factsheet/reddish-egret-egretta-rufescens|title=Species factsheet: ''Egretta rufescens'' |work=BirdLife Species Factsheets |publisher=BirdLife International |access-date=25 March 2023|author=BirdLife International|year=2023}}</ref>
<ref name=TPWD>{{cite web |url=http://www.tpwd.state.tx.us/huntwild/wild/species/reddishegret/ |title=Reddish Egret (''Egretta rufescens'') |publisher=Texas Parks and Wildlife Department |access-date=25 March 2023}}</ref>
<ref name=WAZA>{{cite web |url=http://www.waza.org/en/zoo/visit-the-zoo/storks-herons-flamingos-cranes-and-relatives/egretta-rufescens |title=Reddish Egret |publisher=World Association of Zoos and Aquariums |access-date=2012-03-29 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180508110433/http://www.waza.org/en/zoo/visit-the-zoo/storks-herons-flamingos-cranes-and-relatives/egretta-rufescens |archive-date=2018-05-08 }}</ref>
<ref name=AAB>{{Cite AllAboutBirds|Reddish Egret}}</ref>
<ref name=BNA>{{cite journal |last1=Lowther |first1=Peter E. |first2=Richard T. |last2=Paul |year=2002 |title=Reddish Egret (''Egretta rufescens'') |journal=The Birds of North America Online |editor-first=A. |editor-last=Poole |location=Ithaca, New York |publisher=Cornell Lab of Ornithology |doi=10.2173/bna.633}}</ref>
<ref name=Dunne>{{cite book |last=Dunne |first=Pete |title=Pete Dunne's Essential Field Guide Companion: A Comprehensive Resource for Identifying North American Birds |publisher=Houghton Mifflin Harcourt |year=2006 |isbn=0-618-23648-1 |url=https://archive.org/details/petedunnesessent00dunn|url-access=registration|via=Internet Archive|access-date=25 March 2023}}</ref> }}
==External links== * [https://www.flickr.com/groups/birdguide/pool/tags/Egretta%20rufescens ''Egretta rufescens'' at Field Guide: Birds of the World on Flickr] * {{EBirdSpecies|redegr|Reddish Egret}} * {{VIREO|Reddish+egret}} * {{IUCN_Map|22696916/154076472|Egretta rufescens}} * {{Xeno-canto species|Egretta|rufescens|Reddish egret}}
{{Taxonbar|from=Q258791}}
reddish egret Category:Wading birds Category:Birds of the Caribbean Category:Birds of the Dominican Republic Category:Birds of Central America Category:Birds of the Yucatán Peninsula Category:Native birds of the Southeastern United States Category:Native birds of the Southwestern United States Category:Birds of Mexico reddish egret reddish egret