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. There have been suggestions that the species hybridizes with the little egret, and based on this, some authors…
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ID tip
This bird has two plumage colour forms. There is an all-white morph and a dark grey morph; morphs can also occur with intermediate shades of grey which may be related to age or particoloured in grey and white. The white morph is similar in general appearance to the little egret, but has a larger yellower bill, extended yellow on thicker legs, and when foraging tends to be very active, sometimes also moving its wing or using it to shade the water surface.
Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
Where it lives
Recorded as a rare visitor in United States, Canada, Morocco, Portugal, United Kingdom, Mozambique, Brazil, St. Lucia, Iraq, Germany, Greece, Burkina Faso, Madagascar, Maldives.
When to see it
Peak activity in January · a winter visitor species across most of its range
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.
Learn the Western Reef Heron for real
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