Chinese Egret

The Chinese egret, also known as Swinhoe's egret, is a graceful bird with an average height of 68 cm. Its plumage remains a pristine white throughout its life, bearing a resemblance to the little egret.

Identification Tips

During the non-breeding season, the Chinese egret sports a dusky bill with a tannish peach base, yellow-green legs and lores, and yellow irises. Come breeding season, adults don a splendid crest, sometimes exceeding 11 cm in length, and develop long lanceolate plumes on the breast and dorsal plumes that extend beyond the tail, known as aigrettes. The bill transforms to a vivid yellow, the lores to a striking blue, and the legs to black with yellow feet.

Habitat

The Chinese egret is found in shallow tidal estuaries, mudflats, and bays outside of the breeding season. It may occasionally venture into rice fields and fish ponds. Breeding is confined to offshore islands.

Distribution

This species breeds on small islands off the coasts of far eastern Russia, North Korea, South Korea, and mainland China. It is a non-breeding visitor or passage migrant to Taiwan, Hong Kong, Japan, the Philippines, Vietnam, Thailand, Peninsular Malaysia, Sarawak, Singapore, Indonesia, and Brunei. Notably, significant wintering populations are found in the Eastern Visayas of the Philippines and the Malaysian states of Sarawak and Selangor.

Behaviour

The Chinese egret's migration is a spectacle of nature. In South Korea, the birds, already adorned in full breeding plumage, return in mid-April, with the migration concluding by mid-May. The autumn migration is more prolonged, with many egrets moving southward along the west coast during August and September.

Conservation status

The Chinese egret is classified as Vulnerable, primarily due to habitat loss, reclamation of tidal flats and estuarine habitats, and pollution. The demand for their nuptial plumes for hat decoration in the past also contributed to their decline. However, the population has remained stable over a decade, and newly discovered colonies in southern China may indicate a potential increase.