TEXAS WILDLIFE
CAESAR KLEBERG WILDLIFE RESEARCH INSTITUTE TEXAS A&M UNIVERSITY-KINGSVILLE
The Charismatic Reddish Egret Photo by Bart Ballard
Article by BART M. BALLARD, Caesar Kleberg Wildlife Research Institute, Texas A&M University-Kingsville
Reddish Egrets have two distinct color forms, a dark form with gray body and red head and neck, and one with all white plumage.
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recall the first time I saw a Reddish Egret foraging in the shallow waters of the Laguna Madre. I was fascinated by its acrobatics as it chased small fish by running, jumping and flapping about. The array of foraging behaviors was quite different from the “sit and wait” behavior used by most wading birds. This charismatic nature is a distinguishing characteristic of the Reddish Egret in the field and one that I have come to admire over my years of studying them.
There are two color forms of the Reddish Egret that look quite different and in which the novice observer would assume to be two different species. The more common dark form exhibits grayish plumage with a reddish head and neck, and a white form has entirely white plumage. Both color forms can be distinguished from similar looking egrets by their pinkish bill with black tip and their very animated foraging behavior. The dark form is more common in northerly
portions of the species distribution, and the white form becomes more common throughout the Caribbean. Although breeding pairs typically include a male and female of the same color form, we commonly see breeding pairs with both a dark color form and white color form. Like many wading bird species, the Reddish Egret experienced a severe population decline because of unregulated harvest by plume hunters in the late 1800s and early 1900s. The ornamental feathers of wading birds used in their courtship displays (often called plumes) were sought to adorn women’s hats during that time. By the early 1900s, the Reddish Egret was nearly extirpated from the United States. Although the species has partially recovered from the impacts of plume hunting, its population remains well below historic numbers. Due to its rarity and complete reliance on coastal wetlands, the Reddish Egret has been designated as a threatened species by the state of Texas, a species of concern by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, and endangered in Mexico. The Reddish Egret remains the rarest species of wading birds in North America, with a population of approximately 2,000 pairs. Until recently, very little research had been conducted on the Reddish Egret and much of its ecology was unknown. However, the Caesar Kleberg Wildlife Research Institute
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24 T E X A S W I L D L I F E
AUGUST 2021
