Ardea modesta
Silhouette: Giles Laurent · PhyloPic
In 3 days ~30% in a week ~50%
The eastern great egret (Ardea alba modesta) is a species of heron from the genus Ardea, usually considered a subspecies of the great egret (A. alba). In New Zealand it is known as the white heron or by its Māori name kōtuku. It was first described by British ornithologist John Edward Gray in 1831.
This species was originally described as the "pure white heron of India", Ardea modesta, by Gray in 1831, but was later generally considered a synonym of Ardea alba, by Ellman in 1861 through to the Peters checklist in 1979. It was elevated to species status again by Sibley and Monroe in 1990, and this was supported by a 2005 revision of the herons. It is still sometimes considered a subspecies of the great egret Ardea alba.
Measuring 83–103 centimetres (33–41 in) in length and weighing 0.7–1.2 kilograms (1 lb 9 oz – 2 lb 10 oz), the eastern great egret is a large heron with all-white plumage. Its bill is black in the breeding season and yellow at other times, and its long legs are red or black. The colours of the bare parts of the face change to green during the breeding season. The breeding plumage is also marked by long neck plumes and a green facial area... Wikipedia →
Recording0:04
Australia · 2023
© Vermilingua_pygmaeus · iNaturalist · CC BY-NC 4.0
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Fiordland National Park | 🇳🇿 New Zealand | |
| 2 | Kakadu National Park | 🇦🇺 Australia | |
| 3 | Kinabatangan Wildlife Sanctuary | 🇲🇾 Malaysia | |
| 4 | Abel Tasman National Park | 🇳🇿 New Zealand | |
| 5 | Daintree National Park | 🇦🇺 Australia |
With luck
About 10% of wildlife watchers report an Ardea modesta sighting in Guangzhou on a given day, based on 31 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data. It is the 53rd most-seen of the 266 birds we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 30%, and over a week to about 50%, if each day is a fresh chance.
Any time of year
In every month with enough records, about 10% of wildlife watchers report an Ardea modesta in Guangzhou on a given day, so our monthly data shows no clear season.
Between 5 and 8 am
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Ardea modesta sightings with a recorded time, and about 9 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.
8th of 15
Of the 15 cities where we can rate Ardea modesta sightings, Guangzhou ranks 8th at about 10%. The best odds are in Sendai (Japan, about 40%), Fukuoka (Japan, about 20%) and Denpasar (Indonesia, about 20%).
Same genus: Ardea
The closest relatives of the Ardea modesta that you can see in Guangzhou (genus Ardea, Great Herons and Egrets) are Great Egret (about 30%) and Grey Heron (about 30%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Ardea modesta is recorded against all the birds logged in Guangzhou (31 verified sightings), calibrated against known sighting rates. Figures are rounded to the nearest 10% because citizen-science data supports honest approximations, not decimals, and months with records from fewer than five people show "—". How it works.
