There are about 60 species of long-legged wading birds in the order Eguridae and Egurinae, several of which are usually called egrets. There are * * * species in the world (17, 62 species), and there are 9 genera and 20 species in China. This is a group of very old birds, which were active on the earth about 55 million years ago. The egret family also includes egret subfamily, night heron subfamily and egret subfamily.

They mainly live near wetlands and woodlands and are important indicator species in wetland ecosystems. It is distributed all over the world, and the tropical area is the most common. Usually wading quietly in shallow water areas (such as ponds, swamps and wetlands), feeding on aquatic animals such as frogs and fish. Nest in the Woods or bushes near the water. Heron nests are often crowded in groups, called heron nests. Egret is also one of the themes of literary works and Chinese paintings.

Appearance characteristics

The white-faced heron has a long beak, a long neck and long feet, and its feathers are white, brown and gray-blue. Some egrets have winter feathers and Stephane feathers. Or filamentary feathers will appear in the head, chest, back and other parts during the breeding period, and gradually disappear after the breeding period. During the flight, the neck will shrink into an S-shape, the long legs will stretch out the tail, and the wings will slowly flap. Herons usually have an S-shaped neck when standing. When flying, the feet are dragged behind, the head is close to the body, unlike most birds, the neck is stretched forward. Wide wings, long and straight beak and sharp tip. Feathers with powder (feathers that are constantly decomposed into fine powder, used for combing and pecking feathers, absorbing and removing fish oil, sediment and dirt on the water surface).

Heron is a diurnal bird, which is large in size and suitable for living in various water environments. There are great egrets and herons active in estuary wetland; Egrets and small egrets in stream environment; Rock herons and egrets on the rocky coast.

distribution range

Black herons can be divided into three types: typical herons, night herons and tiger herons. Typical herons feed during the day. During the breeding season, some species have gorgeous back feathers and complicated courtship rituals. The most famous typical herons are those with large body, long legs, long neck, plain color and crested hair, especially those in North America, with a body length of1.30cm (50 inches) and a wingspan of1.8m (6 feet) or more. A. cinerea looks like a big blue heron, but it is smaller and widely distributed in the old world. The largest species is the African giant heron (A. goliath), with a body length of 150 cm (59 inches) and a reddish head and neck. The heron (A. purpurea) has a black body, which is a smaller one in the Old World.

Living habits

Egrets like to live in lakes, swamps and wet forests, and belong to birds. Mainly eat small fish, mammals, reptiles, amphibians and crustaceans in shallow water. They build their big and elegant nests in trees, bushes or on the ground.

Common egrets can be seen in both old and new continents. They are about 90 cm long and only have feathers on their backs.

Cattle-backed egrets are found in Africa, South Africa and Southwest Asia, and occasionally in northern South America and the United States. It's an egret with small white feet and yellow feet, with a body length of about 50 cm. They like to live on the ground, keep company with herbivorous livestock and wild animals, and eat insects that fly because of their activities.

The feathers of cranes have high ornamental value. Ancient people like to decorate clothes, while westerners like to decorate hats with clothes. Because its feathers have high economic value, and egrets like to live in groups, it is easy to be caught in large quantities, resulting in a sharp decline in the number and almost extinction. Later, fortunately, people's clothes changed and strict protective measures were taken. Only egrets survived extinction.

protect grade

All of them are listed in IUCN International Red Book of Birds, and the catalogue in 2009 is ver 3. 1.

China Egrets are distributed in Jilin, Liaoning, Shandong, Hunan, Jiangsu, Zhejiang, Guangdong, Fujian and other places, and are national second-class protected animals. The national second-class protected animals include rock heron, white spoonbill, black-faced spoonbill and so on.