Description of the middle white heron. Birds of Prey in Belarus. "Middle Egret" in books

Aves. Order: Storks Family: Herons Genus: Egrets Species: Middle Egret Scientific name - Egretta intermedia (Wagler, 1829) Rarity category: 3 - rare view on the periphery of the range

Bubulcus intermedia Wagler, 1829

Spreading: Breeds on the periphery of the range on the lake. Khanka and, probably, in other places south. Primorye. During the period of seasonal migrations and in the summer it is regularly observed in various districts of Primorye. Registered in the south. parts about. Sakhalin, on the islands of Moneron, Kunashir and Shikotan. Outside of Russia, the nesting range covers the east. and south. regions of Asia from Japan, the Philippine, Sunda, Moluccas and New Guinea to India and about. Ceylon, to the north. to Nepal, Huanghe and about. Khonshu, as well as sowing. and east. Australia, east and south. Africa.

Habitat: Inhabits the banks of reservoirs, rice fields, swamps in lowlands and plateaus at altitudes up to 1400 m above sea level. During the migration period, it occurs in meadows near sea ​​coast. Nests are built on dense spreading trees, bamboo, in reed creases. The breeding season is from May to July. One clutch per season. Contains 3-5, usually 4 eggs, according to other sources 2-3, rarely 4 eggs. Both partners participate in incubation of the masonry and feeding of the chicks. Feeds in wet biotopes. Sometimes "grazing" among livestock. Serves as food small fish, insects, especially beetles and orthopterans. Data on mortality and its causes are not available. Sev. populations winter in the lower reaches of the river. Yangtze, on about. Taiwan, Philippine and Sunda Islands.

Number: On the lake Khanka found 2 nests of a medium egret in a mixed colony of gray, rufous and great egrets. To the south and east. coast of the lake Khanka in nesting time met singles, pairs and groups of up to 12 individuals, but not every year. During the period of migrations and migrations, single birds and small groups of up to 10 birds were noted with the same frequency.

In the Sakhalin region the species is even rarer. The low number in Russia is explained by the proximity of sowing. nesting range boundaries. In addition, there is a reduction in the area of ​​nesting and forage biotopes as a result of intensive drainage of swamps in the Khanka Plain and other districts of Primorye in the 60-70s. There is no noticeable decrease in the number of the species.

Security: Listed in the Appendices of bilateral agreements concluded by Russia with the USA, Japan and the Republic of Korea on the protection of migratory birds. Famous and possible locations nesting in Primorye are part of the Khanka state reserve and the regional reserve on the coast of the hall. Olga. Some migratory birds are protected in the Far East State Marine Reserve.

Source: 1. Polivanova and Glushchenko, 1977; 2. Labzyuk, 1981; 3. Labzyuk, 1990; 4. Elsukov, 1974; 5. Vorobyov, 1954; 6. Litvinenko, Shibaev, 1965; 7. Labzyuk et al., 1971; 8. Nazarov, Kurinny, 1981; 9. Glushchenko, 1981; 10. Nazarov, unpublished. data; 11. Gizenko, 1955; 12. N Compiled by: Yu.N. Nazarov

See also.

Field signs. From other white herons average differs by yellow coloring of the beak, in the nesting period also by black coloring of the legs.

Area. Africa - tropical regions in the northeast, east and south of Kordofan and Egyptian Sudan to the Cape Land; south Asia from India and Ceylon in the west to Malaya, Indo-China, South and Central China, Japan (Hokkaido, Hondo), the Philippine and Sunda Islands; Buru Islands, Tseram, Australia. Recorded many times in the southern parts of Primorye, on the islands of Peter the Great Bay, Kunashir and presumably southern Sakhalin. Nests on the lake. Khanka.

The nature of the stay. In the north of its range in Japan and in some places in China it is a migratory bird, in other parts of its range it is a settled bird. In the USSR, apparently, a stray bird.

The heron is a fairly familiar bird for Russian landscapes. Despite the quantitative smallness, the distribution of the heron is so wide that it covers large areas around the world. According to their species diversity, herons are Egyptian, gray, white, sunny, red, night heron, and so on. However, the classification is not limited to this - some types of herons are also divided into subspecies.

Description of herons

The appearance of a heron, especially its color, largely depends on the species to which the bird belongs. However, certain external characteristics, characteristic of all herons belonging to this family. So, herons are swamp birds on long and thin legs without membranes. There are small, medium and large herons in size. All herons have special powders with which they powder their plumage, and do not lubricate it, unlike other near-water birds. On the paw of the heron there is a special finger, which differs in shape (it is slightly longer) - the heron uses it as a “comb”. The wings are blunt at the ends. The neck is arched, S-shaped. The beak is long, large and powerful. Herons have a typical physique: long legs and neck, vertically located body.

Description of the white heron

White herons are medium and large. The plumage always has a white tone, regardless of the variety (a very large number of subspecies of this bird are known). The color can be either predominantly white (for example, in the little heron), or simply present (in the blue-footed heron). Sometimes it can appear only at a certain age of birds - like in young blue herons. Paws are dark grey. Body weight - about 1 kilogram, depending on the population.

Description of the Egyptian heron

Egyptian herons are distinguished by a shorter beak compared to other members of the genus. The neck and head are painted in a yellow-ocher tone, the body is white, the beak is yellow-lemon. IN mating season in appearance the Egyptian heron undergoes some changes - it has a yellow crest and untwisted elongated feathers in the back of the same yellowish hue. They fall out in autumn. The wing reaches a length of 22 cm to 25 cm.

Description of the gray heron

The gray heron has a large neck and legs. The plumage is painted in gray and gray shades. There are dark stripes all over the top of the heron's neck. The beak is brown, the wings are darker than the body, the paws are grayish-yellow. On the head of the gray heron is the so-called braid (a kind of head "dress"). Body weight reaches individual cases 2 kg, the standard weight of gray herons is 1.5 kg. Males are usually larger than females. The wing length of the first is approximately 47.2 cm, the second is 45.8 cm.

Description of the red heron

The red heron is almost similar to the gray heron. It is distinguished from it by much smaller sizes and dark red (almost chestnut) color of the feather. Males also outnumber females in size. The average weight of a bird is up to 1 kilogram. Wing length - up to 37 cm.

Description of the night heron

Heron night heron is a heron small size. It has yellow long legs. Her eyes are yellow. The beak is powerful and large. On the head there are feathers that form a special "scarf". Neck - chestnut color, long. The plumage is a dark green tone.

Types of herons

There are a large number of herons, which form not only species, but also subspecies. In general, this family of herons includes 63 species that belong to 16 genera. The most famous and common types of herons:

• gray heron (consists of 4 subspecies);
• white heron (consists of at least 12 subspecies);
• Egyptian heron;
• red heron;
• quack and so on.

Heron habits

The heron is, first of all, a marsh bird, therefore, its habits are appropriate. It forms whole colonies, equipping nests in reed beds, on stunted trees or shrubs growing near swampy reservoirs. The movements of the heron are slow and majestic, accompanied by stretching the neck forward. The heron can go hunting alone or in groups. The heron is most active at dusk and during the day (at this time she gets her own food). At the onset of late evening, he tries to hide in a shelter.

The gray heron spends a long time standing on one leg in complete immobility. All species of this bird are quite aggressive towards each other during feeding, so they often take the caught food from one another. If danger threatens, the heron stretches its neck and freezes, but it is ready to take off at any moment. When hunting, the heron keeps its head lowered, looking out for its prey. If she comes across a large one, then the heron first sharply hits her, then grabs her with her beak and shakes her. Egyptian herons have slightly different habits, as they always adhere to herds of large animals (usually wild ungulates), on whose back they spend a very long time.

Habitats of herons

The Egyptian heron is found mainly in the southern hemisphere. Recently seen at the mouth of the Volga. It is widely distributed in Africa, where it is distributed from the southern regions of the continent to east coast and Senegal. It also inhabits South Asian territories. Found in the B. Sunda Islands, the Philippines and southern Japan. Egrets have a wider distribution and are found everywhere, with the exception of Antarctica. There are especially many of them in Africa. On the territory of Russia, there are mainly three species - gray, small and great egrets.

The gray heron is distributed mainly in Asia, Europe (in countries with temperate climate), inhabiting zones from the Japanese Islands and Sakhalin to the coast Atlantic Ocean(to the north - to Yakutsk and St. Petersburg, to the south - to Ceylon and northwestern Africa). The red heron is found in southern regions Iberian Peninsula - its nesting places go to Pakistan and Iraq through Hungary and the whole Balkan Peninsula. It can also be found in Hindustan, Indochina, China, Ceylon and Primorye. In the east it covers the territory of Taiwan, Ryuko, the Philippine Islands, in the south - the M. Sunda Islands and Sulawesi. It is not rare in Africa either.

Where does the heron live

Any heron lives primarily in swampy areas. However, the specifics in this case depend most of all on the species to which the heron belongs. For example, Egyptian herons can live among herds of ungulates (hippos, rhinos, etc.), on whose backs they spend most of their time. The gray heron is a typical representative of birds that are found along lakes, streams, rivers and marshes. At the same time, the salinity of the water does not matter to them. For herons main factor- the presence of shallow water. The white heron settles near water bodies located both inside the continent and near the sea. Her favorite places to live are mangroves, salt and fresh lakes, shores, floodplains, marshy lowlands. It is also found among agricultural plantings, in fields, near drainage channels.

What does a heron eat

The basic diet of any type of heron is made up of frogs, fish, crayfish, snakes, tailless amphibians, and rodents. The heron also feeds on all kinds of insects (crickets, grasshoppers) and their larvae, field mice, rats, medium-sized ground squirrels and lizards. The red heron can peck locusts, and the Egyptian one can eat ticks and underwear insects, which she catches in the wool and on the skins of animals. The white heron often eats sparrow chicks and other medium-sized birds.

heron hunting

Hunting for herons is prohibited in Russia- due to the small number of this bird. The peak of its mining came in the 19th century. Then such a privilege was available exclusively to the nobility, but ordinary people were strictly forbidden to hunt herons, since the heron was considered noble. Previously, the heron was a classic trophy in falconry and rifle hunting.

see also 5.2.2. Genus Egrets - Egretta

Great Egret - Egretta intermedia

It looks like a great white heron, but smaller (wingspan up to a meter), and with a shorter beak (shorter than middle finger).

The ring around the eye is always yellow.

Breeds in the Lesser Kuriles, in Primorye and, possibly, on the islands of Kunashir and Sakhalin. It hunts by walking slowly along the shallows or looking out for fish from low branches of bushes. The voice is a guttural croak.

Listed in the Red Book of Russia.

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"Middle Egret" in books

HERON