- Egretta picata
Ardea picata
Identification
43–55 cm (17-21¾ in)
- Dark wings, body and crested head
- White throat and neck
Immature birds lack the crest as well as the dark colouring.
Distribution
Discontinuous range from in southern Borneo and Sulawesi, western and southern New Guinea and northern coastal areas of Australia from the eastern Kimberleys to Queensland and south to about Townsville.
Resident in some areas but in others appears to undergo long-distance movements. May be a non-breeding visitor outside Australia.
Vagrants recorded at various localities in eastern Australia.
Taxonomy
This is a monotypic species[1].
This species has been placed in either genus Egretta or in genus Ardea by different authorities. Opus is following the majority of the international taxonomic checklists and therefore lists this species in Egretta
Habitat
Wetlands and wet grasslands. Lakes and swamps, sewage ponds and farmland, estuaries, mudflats and mangroves.
Behaviour
Diet
They feed on insects such as grasshoppers, beetles, cockroaches, dragonfly larvae and water bugs. With the addition of crustaceans and amphibians.
Breeding
They nest in trees.
References
- Clements, J. F., T. S. Schulenberg, M. J. Iliff, D. Roberson, T. A. Fredericks, B. L. Sullivan, and C. L. Wood. 2018. The eBird/Clements checklist of birds of the world: v2018. Downloaded from http://www.birds.cornell.edu/clementschecklist/download/
- Handbook of the Birds of the World Alive (retrieved January 2019)
- BF Member observations
Recommended Citation
- BirdForum Opus contributors. (2024) Pied Heron. In: BirdForum, the forum for wild birds and birding. Retrieved 27 April 2024 from https://www.birdforum.net/opus/Pied_Heron
External Links
GSearch checked for 2020 platform.1
