Chinese Egret Egretta eulophotes Scientific name definitions

65–68 cm; 390–540 g (1 Kushlan, J. A., and J. A. Hancock (2005). The Herons. Oxford University Press, Oxford, UK. Close ); wingspan 99 cm (2 Kennedy, R. S., P. C. Gonzales, E. C. Dickinson, H. C. Miranda, and T. H. Fisher (2000). A Guide to the Birds of the Philippines. Oxford University Press, Oxford, UK. Close ). All-white egret , with dusky-black bill becoming yellow to pink at base of mandible, pale yellow-white eyes, yellow-green, green or grey lores, and pale to dark green legs  with greenish-yellow feet in non-breeding season  (3 Poole, C.M., Park, J.-Y. and Moores, N. (1999). The identification of Chinese Egret and Pacific Reef Egret. Bull. Oriental Bird Club. 30: 40–41. Close ). Principal confusion risk is with E. garzetta  , compared to which present species is usually larger (though sometimes smaller and slimmer) and heavier- and more symetrically-billed, with a proportionately thicker and shorter S-shaped neck, shorter and marginally thicker legs, and denser and shorter crown and neck plumes, while bare-parts colours are also useful; obviously smaller-bodied than Ardea alba. Present species also has characteristic feeding action, wherein adopts hunched posture before suddenly dashing forward to seize prey, which it chases excitedly. Separated from E. sacra during breeding by, among others, bare-part colours and ornamental plumes ; overall size slightly smaller, posture more upright, lack of obvious jowl, bill more slender (and does not narrow from base, only at tip), legs  noticeably longer and, in non-breeding season  , lacks dark bill tip of latter species (3 Poole, C.M., Park, J.-Y. and Moores, N. (1999). The identification of Chinese Egret and Pacific Reef Egret. Bull. Oriental Bird Club. 30: 40–41. Close ). Differs from allopatric E. thula in bare-part colours, shorter tarsus, and denser, shaggy crest. Bare parts normally much brighter during courtship, the bill becoming yellow-orange, the lores bright blue, legs black and feet yellow; non-breeding adult lacks ornamental plumes. Juvenile similar to non-breeding adult.

Breeds on coasts of Russian Far East, N & S Korea, NE & E (formerly also SE) China coast; non-breeders range S to Vietnam, Peninsular Malaysia, Indonesia and Philippines, and occasionally E & N to Japan (Hokkaido) and Sakhalin.

Mainly coastal, in estuaries and bays, feeding in shallow water along margins of mangroves or on intertidal mudflats; more rarely rocky coasts, rice fields, marshes, coastal freshwater lagoons, salt pans and rivers.

Migratory, although some apparently remain as far N as South Korea in winter (4 Collar, N. J., A. V. Andreev, S. Chan, M. J. Crosby, S. Subramanya, and J. A. Tobias, Editors (2001). Threatened Birds of Asia: the BirdLife International Red Data Book. BirdLife International, Cambridge, UK. Close ); probably also performs post-breeding dispersal. Arrives at colonies in Korea in early May, where remains until Sept; Apr–Aug in Hong Kong. After breeding moves off towards Japan, Ryukyu Is and Taiwan in Sept–Oct, but also reported to move inland post-breeding in NE China (4 Collar, N. J., A. V. Andreev, S. Chan, M. J. Crosby, S. Subramanya, and J. A. Tobias, Editors (2001). Threatened Birds of Asia: the BirdLife International Red Data Book. BirdLife International, Cambridge, UK. Close ); in Japan (where records from 12 islands) (4 Collar, N. J., A. V. Andreev, S. Chan, M. J. Crosby, S. Subramanya, and J. A. Tobias, Editors (2001). Threatened Birds of Asia: the BirdLife International Red Data Book. BirdLife International, Cambridge, UK. Close ) is regular but rare migrant Apr–Jun and Jul–Oct, with a few winter records in S of archipelago (and on Taiwan) (4 Collar, N. J., A. V. Andreev, S. Chan, M. J. Crosby, S. Subramanya, and J. A. Tobias, Editors (2001). Threatened Birds of Asia: the BirdLife International Red Data Book. BirdLife International, Cambridge, UK. Close ). Recent data indicate main winter quarters in Philippines, especially on Luzon, Palawan and Bohol, where species recored from early Oct to early Jun (2 Kennedy, R. S., P. C. Gonzales, E. C. Dickinson, H. C. Miranda, and T. H. Fisher (2000). A Guide to the Birds of the Philippines. Oxford University Press, Oxford, UK. Close ); also on Borneo (Sarawak, Brunei, Sabah, Kalimantan and N Natunas Is, present mainly late Sept to late May, with two records Jun and one Jul) (5 Mann, C. F. (2008). The Birds of Borneo: An Annotated Checklist. B.O.U. Checklist 23. British Ornithologists’ Union, and British Ornithologists’ Club, Peterborough. Close ), the Thai-Malay Peninsula (extreme dates early Aug to early May, but very rare before last week of September) (6 Wells, D. R. (1999). The Birds of the Thai-Malay Peninsula. Volume 1. Non-passerines. Academic Press, London, UK. Close ), Singapore (where one record of bird colour-ringed as chick off W Korea) (6 Wells, D. R. (1999). The Birds of the Thai-Malay Peninsula. Volume 1. Non-passerines. Academic Press, London, UK. Close ) and Sumatra. Also reported inland in parts of China during non-breeding period, including as far afield as Yunnan (Jan 1992), although at least some of these records are considered doubtful (4 Collar, N. J., A. V. Andreev, S. Chan, M. J. Crosby, S. Subramanya, and J. A. Tobias, Editors (2001). Threatened Birds of Asia: the BirdLife International Red Data Book. BirdLife International, Cambridge, UK. Close ). Recently (Jan 2014) recorded in Cambodia for first time (7 Nielsen, P.H., Everingham, P., Suy, S. and Mahood, S.P. (2014). Chinese Egret Egretta eulophotes, Spoon-billed Sandpiper Calidris pygmaea and Lesser Crested Tern Thalasseus bengalensis: new for Cambodia. BirdingASIA. 22: 117–119. Close ) (the species is annual in small numbers in Vietnam). Accidental to Aleutian Is (Aggatu, mid-Jun 1974), Bali (Aug 2009) (8 Mason, V. (2011). A revised checklist for the birds of Bali, with notes on recent additions to the avifauna. Kukila 15:1–30. Close ), Sulawesi (only occurrences historical) (4 Collar, N. J., A. V. Andreev, S. Chan, M. J. Crosby, S. Subramanya, and J. A. Tobias, Editors (2001). Threatened Birds of Asia: the BirdLife International Red Data Book. BirdLife International, Cambridge, UK. Close ) and Andaman Is (Mar 2015) (9 Sivaperuman, C., Gokulakrishnan, G., Dinesh, J. and Rasmussen, P.C. (2016). Chinese Egret Egretta eulophotes on the Andaman and Nicobar Islands: the first record for India. BirdingASIA. 25: 108–109. Close ), but records from mainland India, Myanmar, Mentawai Is, Comoros Is and Christmas I (Indian Ocean) are erroneous.

Apparently mostly small fish  , shrimps, crabs, but other recorded prey includes frogs  and grasshoppers (4 Collar, N. J., A. V. Andreev, S. Chan, M. J. Crosby, S. Subramanya, and J. A. Tobias, Editors (2001). Threatened Birds of Asia: the BirdLife International Red Data Book. BirdLife International, Cambridge, UK. Close ). Prey taken in shallow water, e.g. in Hong Kong, mainly feeds in water less than 7·6 cm deep. At island heronries off Fujian, S China, fish (mainly Mugilidae and Clupeidae) and shrimp (Penaeidae) occurred respectively in 87·5% and 35·4% of nestlings’ regurgitates; most food was obtained in coastal wetlands around the islands (10 Fang, W., Lin, Q., Chen, X. and Lin, J. (2011). Nestling diet of the vulnerable Chinese Egret on offshore islands in southern China. Waterbirds. 34(2): 247-252. Close ). In Korea, chicks fed on sardines, shrimps and crabs on average 4·3 times per day. Very active feeder , following outgoing tide or chasing prey with wings open, or half-spread, and repeatedly stabbing into water, in manner similar to that of E. rufescens. Usually feeds alone or in small, tightly-spaced flocks, often occurring alongside other heron species, e.g. with E. garzetta, Ardea alba, A. intermedia and Bubulcus ibis (11 Pedersen, A., S. S. Nielsen, L. D. Thuy, and L. T. Trai (1998). The status and conservation of threatened and near-threatened species of birds in the Red River Delta, Vietnam. Bird Conservation International. 8(1):31–51. Close ), especially the first two in the Philippines in winter (4 Collar, N. J., A. V. Andreev, S. Chan, M. J. Crosby, S. Subramanya, and J. A. Tobias, Editors (2001). Threatened Birds of Asia: the BirdLife International Red Data Book. BirdLife International, Cambridge, UK. Close ). In North Korea, birds have been recorded foraging up to 7–8 km from their breeding colonies (4 Collar, N. J., A. V. Andreev, S. Chan, M. J. Crosby, S. Subramanya, and J. A. Tobias, Editors (2001). Threatened Birds of Asia: the BirdLife International Red Data Book. BirdLife International, Cambridge, UK. Close ).

Very poorly known. The only described vocalization appears to be a guttural, croaking “gwa” that is sometimes given on taking flight (12 Brazil, M. (2009). Field Guide to the Birds of East Asia: Eastern China, Taiwan, Korea, Japan and Eastern Russia. Christopher Helm, London, UK. Close ).

Starts Apr–Jun, depending on colony, with young typically fledging in Jul–Aug (1 Kushlan, J. A., and J. A. Hancock (2005). The Herons. Oxford University Press, Oxford, UK. Close ). Normally in or beside colonies of other species, forming dense aggregations, e.g. with Ardea cinerea, E. garzetta, Bubulcus ibis, Nycticorax nycticorax, Ardeola bacchus, as well as Black-faced Spoonbills (Platalea minor) (13 Ding Chang-qing, Ding Wen-ning, Yin Zuo-hua, Zhang Yin-sun and Xu Yan-gong (2000). The breeding site and the conservation of the Black-faced Spoonbill in China. Bull. Oriental Bird Club. 32: 14–16. Close ), cormorants (Phalacrocorax), Black-tailed Gulls (Larus crassirostris), and even guillemots (Cepphus), auklets (Cerorhyncha) and Horned Puffins (Fratercula corniculata) (14 Lansdown, R.V. (1990). Chinese Egret. Bull. Oriental Bird Club. 2: 27-30. Close , 1 Kushlan, J. A., and J. A. Hancock (2005). The Herons. Oxford University Press, Oxford, UK. Close ). Since 1985 has bred almost only on offshore islands, frequently in tightly-packed aggregations, sometimes with just 14–76 cm between nests (4 Collar, N. J., A. V. Andreev, S. Chan, M. J. Crosby, S. Subramanya, and J. A. Tobias, Editors (2001). Threatened Birds of Asia: the BirdLife International Red Data Book. BirdLife International, Cambridge, UK. Close ); nests in trees, up to 12–18 m up, but also in low trees, bushes (Sambucus) on cliffs, or dense stands of mugwort, 0·23–3 m off ground (4 Collar, N. J., A. V. Andreev, S. Chan, M. J. Crosby, S. Subramanya, and J. A. Tobias, Editors (2001). Threatened Birds of Asia: the BirdLife International Red Data Book. BirdLife International, Cambridge, UK. Close ), sometimes on ground itself (1 Kushlan, J. A., and J. A. Hancock (2005). The Herons. Oxford University Press, Oxford, UK. Close ); stick nest, sometimes with some dry grass. Reports of inland nesting, at reservoirs, in China, e.g. in Henan province, are widely considered to be erroneous (4 Collar, N. J., A. V. Andreev, S. Chan, M. J. Crosby, S. Subramanya, and J. A. Tobias, Editors (2001). Threatened Birds of Asia: the BirdLife International Red Data Book. BirdLife International, Cambridge, UK. Close ), but species has recently (since 2014) been confirmed to breed at a heronry in surburban Shanghai and it has been suggested that the species might easily be overlooked within mixed colonies of white egrets (15 Lamont, A.R. (2015). Chinese Egret Egretta eulophotes breeds in suburban Shanghai, China. BirdingASIA. 23: 88–91. Close ). Normally three pale blue-green eggs (2–5), size 43·5–52·4 mm × 32·6–40·5 mm (1 Kushlan, J. A., and J. A. Hancock (2005). The Herons. Oxford University Press, Oxford, UK. Close ); incubation 21–26 days (previous reports in excess of 30 days now considered erroneous) (1 Kushlan, J. A., and J. A. Hancock (2005). The Herons. Oxford University Press, Oxford, UK. Close ), mostly by female; chicks hatch asynchronously and remain in nest 36–40 days, gain distinctive masked appearance (jet-black bill and lores) at age c. 2 weeks (15 Lamont, A.R. (2015). Chinese Egret Egretta eulophotes breeds in suburban Shanghai, China. BirdingASIA. 23: 88–91. Close ). Has been suggested that the birds at the Shanghai colony foraged up to 45 km from the heronry (15 Lamont, A.R. (2015). Chinese Egret Egretta eulophotes breeds in suburban Shanghai, China. BirdingASIA. 23: 88–91. Close ). Nesting success not well known, but hatching rate was 84% in one study, with overall success rate of c. 40% (1 Kushlan, J. A., and J. A. Hancock (2005). The Herons. Oxford University Press, Oxford, UK. Close ) and total of 35 chicks fledged from 14 nests on Furugelm I (Primorye, Russia) in 1998 (4 Collar, N. J., A. V. Andreev, S. Chan, M. J. Crosby, S. Subramanya, and J. A. Tobias, Editors (2001). Threatened Birds of Asia: the BirdLife International Red Data Book. BirdLife International, Cambridge, UK. Close ).

VULNERABLE. Total population previously estimated at c. 1000 pairs and more recently within the range 2500–9999 mature individuals, with no evidence of declines over the last decade and a specific population estimate of 2600–3400 birds has been considered to be too low, given that the Chinese population alone probably numbers 1000–2000 individuals. Legally protected in Russia, China (including Hong Kong), Taiwan and South Korea, and some important breeding, staging and wintering sites are protected, including the Far Eastern Marine Reserve (Russia) as well as sites in China (e.g. Changdao National Nature Reserve, Mai Po Nature Reserve and Yangcheng Nature Reserve, Taiwan, North Korea, South Korea, Vietnam (Xuan Thuy and Dat Mui Nature Reserves) and Philippines. Driven to verge of extinction by plume trade at end of 19th century, has not been able to recover former numbers (see Family Text ). Greatest modern-day threat is habitat loss and degradation through reclamation of tidal flats, estuarine habitats and uninhabited offshore breeding islands for infrastructure (housing, airports), industry, aquaculture and agriculture, and due to pollution (including heavy metals) (16 Fang, W., Chen, X., Lin, Q. and Zhou, X. (2010). Effect of colonial breeding of Chinese Egret (Egretta eulophotes) on the heavy metal accumulation in heronry soil. Chinese Birds. 1(2): 124-131. Close ). Fishermen in Liaoning, China, collect eggs for food, and breeding birds are threatened by disturbance (which may lead to increased nest predation by gulls Larus) (4 Collar, N. J., A. V. Andreev, S. Chan, M. J. Crosby, S. Subramanya, and J. A. Tobias, Editors (2001). Threatened Birds of Asia: the BirdLife International Red Data Book. BirdLife International, Cambridge, UK. Close ), while rapid decline of colony on Shin-do, South Korea, from c. 500 pairs in late 1980s to just 100 pairs in 1994 and only three individuals the following year (4 Collar, N. J., A. V. Andreev, S. Chan, M. J. Crosby, S. Subramanya, and J. A. Tobias, Editors (2001). Threatened Birds of Asia: the BirdLife International Red Data Book. BirdLife International, Cambridge, UK. Close ), was apparently due to disturbance by photographers. Formerly bred more widely on coasts of China (S to Guandong), in North Korea and on islands of Yellow Sea, as well as apparently on Taiwan (in 19th century) (4 Collar, N. J., A. V. Andreev, S. Chan, M. J. Crosby, S. Subramanya, and J. A. Tobias, Editors (2001). Threatened Birds of Asia: the BirdLife International Red Data Book. BirdLife International, Cambridge, UK. Close ); however, recent surveys have found several new colonies along Chinese coast, including at an inland site near Shanghai (15 Lamont, A.R. (2015). Chinese Egret Egretta eulophotes breeds in suburban Shanghai, China. BirdingASIA. 23: 88–91. Close ). Population on W coast of North Korea (where known from at least seven colonies) (4 Collar, N. J., A. V. Andreev, S. Chan, M. J. Crosby, S. Subramanya, and J. A. Tobias, Editors (2001). Threatened Birds of Asia: the BirdLife International Red Data Book. BirdLife International, Cambridge, UK. Close ) c. 500 pairs; colony of 429 nests located in South Korea in 1988; small breeding population on islands off Hong Kong discovered in 1956, but last bred 1985; 60 pairs at two colonies in Jiangsu Province, China. Now known to winter regularly in Philippines, with concentrations of 164 on Palawan in Mar 1990 (17 Redman, N. (1993). Two new species of birds for the Philippines and other notable records. Forktail. 8: 119–123. Close ), 635 birds roosting in mangroves around Bohol, Mar–Apr 1991 and 1600 birds near Ormoc, on Leyte, also in 1991 (4 Collar, N. J., A. V. Andreev, S. Chan, M. J. Crosby, S. Subramanya, and J. A. Tobias, Editors (2001). Threatened Birds of Asia: the BirdLife International Red Data Book. BirdLife International, Cambridge, UK. Close ); key wintering areas are E Visayas (Leyte, Bohol and Cebu), Philippines, and Malaysian states of Sarawak and Selangor where 30–50% of the global populaton are believed to winter based on counts in 2004/05. Generally only recorded in small numbers in Indochina and Thai-Malay Peninsula, but up to 83 recorded in Mekong Delta, Vietnam (Mar 2000) (18 Buckton, S. T. and R. J. Safford (2004). The avifauna of the Vietnamese Mekong Delta. Bird Conservation International 14(4):279–322. Close ).