Chinese Egret, 5/7/2012

At the beginning of May, one senior birdwatching friend told me there are Chinese Egrets in Watzuwei Nature Reserve area at Bali District of New Taipei City. Before 5/7/2012, I only saw this bird from some birdwatching fans' blogs. In their blogs, they described Chinese Egrets as rare passage migrants in Taiwan, not easy to be spotted. Now they appeared in Watzuwei Nature Reserve area. How can I miss the chance to photograph them? Choosing a sunny weekday, I went to take pictures of the birds. Lucky enough, they were still there.

The outlook and size of Chinese Egret are almost the same as Little Egret. Both have a white body, and both have yellow toes. The difference is that, in summer, the bill of the Chinese Egret is yellow, but the bill of the Little Egret is black. There are only two head crests for the Little Egret, but the Chinese Egret has more than two head crests.

Chinese Egret also looks very much like Intermediate Egret. Both have a white body, and both have a yellow bill. The difference is that, the toes of the Chinese Egret are yellow, but the toes of the Intermediate Egret are black.











Video recorded on 5/7/2012, at Watzuwei Nature Reserve, Bali District, New Taipei City



Video recorded on 5/23/2012, at Watzuwei Nature Reserve, Bali District, New Taipei City

Chinese name:	唐白鷺
English name:	Chinese Egret
Nickname:
Scientific name:	Egretta eulophotes
Order:	Ciconiiformes
Family:	Ardeidae
Species status:	Species
Conservation status:	IUCN listed it as Vulnerable, but Taiwan listed it as "Class II Rare and Valuable Species". There are estimated 3400 Chinese Egrets left in the world today, with about 100 in Russia, 900 to 1300 in North Korea, 600 to 1000 in South Korea and 1000 in China.
Migration status:	Passage migrants in Taiwan
Frequency of appearance:	Uncommon in Taiwan
Foods:	Fishes, amphibians, insects
Habitat:	Wetlands, Swamps
Altitude:	Low altitude
Behavior:	Appear alone.
Characteristics:	General Characteristics: About 55 cm long, about the same size as Little Egret. Feet are black, with yellow poes. In summer, the bill is yellow, eye are blue and there are many slim head crests. In winter, the upper bill is black, the lower bill is yellow and feet are yellowish green. Other parts of the bird are white.
Breeding places:	Russia, North Korea, South Korea and mainland China.
Migration destinations:	Wintering in Eastern Visayas of the Philippines and the Malaysian states of Sarawak and Selangor. Stopping by Japan, Taiwan, northern Philippines, Malaysia, Singapore, Vietnam, Brunei and Indonesia.
Time photographed:	5/7/2012
Location found:	Watzuwei Nature Reserve, Bali District, New Taipei City
Sources:	Internet
Notes: