A white heron that catches fish in shallow watersides. A black bill and legs with yellow feet are identifying features.
Its body is white, with a black bill and legs and conspicuous yellow feet.
Little egrets in Hong Kong use commercial fishponds as well as mudflats and mangroves. Although many tracked birds frequently visited fishponds, one individual preferred a drainage channel. Birds living in the same area can differ in how they use wetlands.
A 2020 study fitted location loggers to nine little egrets in Hong Kong’s Inner Deep Bay and analysed data from late January 2018 to March 2019. The study recorded 18,839 positions. The mean proportion in commercial fishponds across individuals was about 59%. An analysis accounting for habitat availability indicated selection for fishponds relative to their availability. Among autumn, winter and spring, winter had greater ranges and travel distances and more frequent fishpond occurrence. One bird shifted from fishpond use to mangroves in summer, while another regularly favoured a channel across seasons. The wetland mosaic accommodated seasonal and individual differences.
An extinction-risk assessment has not been added yet.
Development pressure is a conservation concern for wetlands in Hong Kong’s Inner Deep Bay. The 2020 tracking study emphasizes preserving commercial fishponds used by little egrets. Other wetland types, including mangroves, mudflats and channels, were also used. The researchers therefore recommend retaining a mosaic of fishponds, mangroves, mudflats, channels and tidal shrimp ponds, providing alternative foraging and breeding habitats for different individuals and seasons.