Western Reef Heron

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Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

When to see the Western Reef Heron

One bar for each month. Filled bars are the 8 months with records; pale bars are months with none. The wide bar is January, the month with the most records.

Where to see the Western Reef Heron

The map shades 50 countries with regular records, and 15 more in a lighter tone where the bird turns up only as a stray. Everything unshaded has no records. Countries are listed below the map.

Recorded as a rare visitor in United States, Canada, Morocco, Austria, Portugal, United Kingdom, Mozambique, Brazil, St. Lucia, Iraq, Germany, Greece, Burkina Faso, Madagascar, Maldives.

About the Western Reef Heron

The western reef heron, also called the western reef egret, is a medium-sized heron found in southern Europe, Africa and parts of Asia. It has a mainly coastal distribution and occurs in several plumage forms: a slaty-grey plumage which can only be confused with the rather uncommon dark morph of the little egret ; a white form which can look very similar to the little egret, although the reef heron's bill tends to be paler and larger; and a black form with a white throat, E. g. gularis, found in West Africa. There are also differences in size, structure and foraging behaviour.

Text adapted from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Easily confused with

Pacific Reef HeronEgretta sacraPacific reef herons are medium-sized herons, reaching 57 to 66 cm (22 to 26 in) in length. Black HeronEgretta ardesiacaThe black heron is a medium-sized bird, with a typical height range of 42.5 to 66 cm (16.7 to 26.0 in). Pied HeronEgretta picataIt is a small heron, 43–55 cm (17–22 in) long, with dark slaty wings, body, and crested head, with a white throat and neck.

Side by side: Western Reef Heron vs White-faced Heron · Reddish Egret vs Western Reef Heron · Pacific Reef Heron vs Western Reef Heron · Boat-billed Heron vs Western Reef Heron · Black Heron vs Western Reef Heron · Pied Heron vs Western Reef Heron