There are some disadvantages of long distance travel for migrating birds says a scientific study.
The New Scientist’s LIFE magazine (November 2022) reports on the high rate of break-ups – ‘divorce’ – in bird species with longer migration routes. But why would there be a high rate of bird divorce?
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The Squacco Heron (Ardeola ralloides) is a wetlands bird in the Ardeidae family of herons.
The Squacco Heron is short and stocky, almost without a neck. It has a buff-brown body with a white underbelly and wings. In summer, it grows long neck feathers. It has a short, thick, greyish beak.
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What is a group of herons called?
A group of herons is called a sedge of herons or a seige of herons.
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The White-Faced Heron (Egretta novaehollandiae) is a common medium-sized bird found in Australasia – Australia, New Guinea, Indonesia, and New Zealand.
The White-Faced Heron is pale grey with white facial markings on its head, crown, chin, and throat. It has a dark-grey beak and grey, green, or dull yellow eyes. It has yellow legs and feet.
What’s the difference between the Little Egret, Intermediate Egret, and Great Egret?
The Little Egret (Egretta garzetta), the Intermediate Egret (Ardea intermedia or Mesophoyx intermedia), and the Great Egret (Ardea alba melanorhynchos or Casmerodius albus melanorhynchos) have all white plumage (feathers).
The Little Egret has a black beak. The Intermediate Egret has a shorter, thicker yellow beak that may turn red or black in the breeding season. The Great Egret has a long, thin, yellow beak that may become darker in the breeding season.
The Little Egret does not have a black line underneath its eye. The breeding adult Intermediate Egret has a black line underneath its eye, but it does not extend past the eye. The Great Egret has a fine black line from its beak to beyond its eye (like eye-liner underneath the eye).
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The Great Egret (Ardea alba) is also known as the Common Egret, Large Egret, Great White Egret or Great White Heron. It is a large, common egret found in Asia, Africa, the Americas, and southern Europe. It is a member of the heron family. It is closely related to pelicans.
The African Great Egret (Ardea alba melanorhynchos or Casmerodius albus melanorhynchos) is found in the wetlands of tropical Africa.
The African Great Egret has all white feathers, and a long, thin, yellow beak, which may become darker in the breeding season. It has a fine black line from its beak to beyond its eye (like eye-liner underneath the eye). It has black legs and feet.
The Intermediate Egret (Ardea intermedia or Mesophoyx intermedia) is also known as the Median Egret, or Yellow-Billed Egret. It is a medium-sized egret found in the wetlands of Asia, Africa, and Australia. It is a member of the heron family.
The Intermediate Egret has all white feathers, and a yellow beak (which may turn red or black in the breeding season). It has black legs and feet.
The Black-Crowned Night Heron (Nycticorax nycticorax nycticorax) is a medium-sized nocturnal wetland bird from southern Europe to Africa.
The Black-Crowned Night Heron is plump, short-necked, and short-legged. It is white with a black crown (with two long white feathers), and black back. Its wings, rump, and tail are grey. Its eyes are large and red, with yellow-cream eye-rings. It has a large, grey beak, and pale-yellow legs and feet.
The Goliath Heron (Ardea goliath) is also known as the Giant Hero because it is the world’s largest heron. It is a very large wading bird found in Sub-Saharan Africa, with a few colonies in Asia.
The Goliath Heron is medium-grey with chestnut coloured feathers. Its head and crest, face, and the back and side of the neck are chestnut brown. Its chin, throat, and chest are white with black streaks across the neck and upper chest. Its beak, legs, and feet are black and its eyes are yellow.
What is the difference between the Grey Heron (Ardea cinerea) and the Black-Headed Heron (Ardea melanocephala).
The Grey Heron and the Black-Headed Heron are both large wading birds from the wetlands of Africa.
The Grey Heron has light grey feathers, whereas the Black-Headed Heron has darker grey feathers.
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The Black-Headed Heron (Ardea melanocephala) is a long-legged wading bird most common in East Africa.
The Black-Headed Heron has a grey body and grey wings, with a split-level black and white face (black on the top and white underneath) with black at the back of the neck and white at the front of the neck. It has a dark grey beak and grey legs.
The Grey Heron (Ardea cinerea) is a long-legged wading bird found in the wetlands of Europe, Asia, and parts of Africa.
The Grey Heron has a grey body and grey wings, with a white head and white neck. It has a wide black stripe from the eye to the black crest. It has some black feathers on its side. It has a long pink-yellow beak and brown legs.
What do herons and storks do with their legs and necks when they fly?
When they fly, herons and stork have their legs outstretched behind them.
Herons tuck their necks into their shoulders (like an S shape).
Storks fly with their necks outstretched.
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The Striated Heron (Butorides striata) also known as the Green-Backed Heron, is a small hunched wetlands bird from the tropical regions of the world, mainly in the southern hemisphere, including west Africa, Japan, Australia, and South America.
The Striated Heron is greenish grey, with a white underbelly, a black cap, and short yellow legs. Its neck is short which makes it looked hunched over. It has a long beak, that has a black upper mandible and a yellow lower mandible.
It can grow to 40-48 centimetres (16-19 inches) tall.
The Cattle Egret (Bubulcus ibis) is a type of heron, rather than a true egret in the genus Egretta. It is native to Asia, Africa, and Europe. It is related to ibis. The term bubulcus means herdsmen (cattle men).
It is a white bird with orange-buff feathers and red legs and beak when it is breeding. When it is not breeding it is white with a yellow beak and grey legs. It is stocky with a short neck, so that it looks hunched. It has a height of 46-56 centimetres (18-22 inches) and a wingspan of 88-96 centimetres (35-38 inches).
It likes to be near cattle and other large mammals, such as buffalo, to catch insects that live near the cattle. The cattle egret removes ticks and fleas from cattle.
What birds are cranes related to?
Cranes are related to herons, storks, spoonbills, flamingos, marabou, jabiru, bitterns, egrets, brolgas, and ibises.
Photographer: Martina Nicolls
Martina Nicolls: SIMILAR BUT DIFFERENT IN THE ANIMAL KINGDOM
What does craning your neck mean?
Craning your neck means that a person is stretching their neck like cranes, herons, or storks.