White-bellied Heron
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| White-bellied Heron | ||||||||||||||
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| Ardea insignis Hume, 1878 |
The White-bellied Heron (Ardea insignis) is a species of heron. In India, it is found in East Himalayan foothills. Its grey foreneck and breast contrast with a white belly. In flight, it has a uniform dark grey upperwing and white underwing-coverts contrasting with dark grey flight feathers. In breeding plumage, it has a greyish-white nape plume and elongated grey breast feathers with white centres.
The White-bellied Heron is found in the wetlands of tropical and subtropical forests in northeast India and Myanmar. The major threats the heron faces are hunting (both the bird itself and its eggs) and habitat destruction (the cutting of nesting trees and the disappearance of wetlands).
This species is rarer than previously believed; indeed, it appears close to extinction. It is thus uplisted from Endangered to Critically Endangered status in the 2007 IUCN Red List.[1]
[edit] Footnotes
- ^ See BirdLife International (2007a,b).
[edit] References
- BirdLife International (2004). Ardea insignis. 2006 IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. IUCN 2006. Retrieved on 27 August 2007.
- BirdLife International (2007a): [ 2006-2007 Red List status changes ]. Retrieved 2007-AUG-26.
- BirdLife International (2007b): White-bellied Heron - BirdLife Species Factsheet. Retrieved 2007-MAY-22.
[edit] External links
- BirdLife Species Factsheet.
- White-Bellied Heron Photos Photos By Yeshey Dorji
- White-Bellied Heron Video Video By Bhutan Bird Quest
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