Pacific Reef Egret

Egretta sacra

Description

Egretta sacra is rather large, body length from beak to tail about 57 cm. This species is often found in two colors, namely white species like herons in general; or, more commonly seen as charcoal gray, with a whitish chin that is difficult to see in the field. With a short crest. On the beach, their habitat for food, this egret often looks dusky. The shape with white color is similar to the buffalo egret, but bigger in size, and the head and neck are slimmer. The legs are greenish, and relatively short to distinguish it from other types of herons. Also its beak is pale yellow

Population Size

Unknown

Life Span

-

WEIGHT​

-

LENGTH

57 cm

Ca

Carnivore

Di

Diurnal

So

Solitary

Classification

KINGDOM

:

Animalia

PHYLUM

:

Chordata

CLASS

:

Aves

ORDER

:

Ciconiformes

FAMILY

:

Ardeidae

GENUS

:

Egretta

SPECIES

:

Egretta sacra

Distribution

Egretta sacra can often be seen on rocky or sandy beaches, or on coral reefs at low tide.

Geography

Continent : Asia

Country : Egretta sacra is widespread in the coastal areas of East Asia, the West Pacific, India, Southeast Asia, Indonesia, to Papua New Guinea, Australia and New Zealand.

Habits and Lifestyle

Egretta sacra can often be seen on rocky or sandy beaches, or on coral reefs at low tide. Alone or in pairs looking for food on the beach; and perch in trees at high tide. Hunting on the water’s edge while waiting for prey hit by the waves, or actively chasing small fish in shallows.

Lifestyle

Solitary

Biome

Coastal

Climate Zone

Tropical

Diet and Nutrition

Egretta sacra feeds on fish, shrimp and crab

Diet : Carnivora

Mating Habits

Egretta sacra nests on rocks, in shrubs, or short trees. The nest is in the form of a simple arrangement of twigs, or even just scratching the ground. Three to four eggs, pale greenish bluish in color. In West Java, this bird is known to lay eggs between December and April.

Reproduction session : between December and April

Incubation periods: –

Independent age : –

Baby name : –

Baby carrying : 3 – 4 eggs

Population

Population status : Least Concern (LC)

NE

DD

LC

NT

VU

EN

CR

EW

EX

Population number​

The distribution of Egretta sacra is so wide that this species is included in the Least Concern category because its population size does not approach the threshold of vulnerability.

PHOTO GALLERY

Reference

  1. MacKinnon, J. 1991 . Fields Guide to the Birds Of Java and Bali. Gadjah Mada University Press. Yogyakarta.
  2. Kuntul Karang on Wikipedia article 
  3. Egretta sacra on Red List IUCN site