The White-bellied Heron is a large waterbird with a long neck and legs. In Bhutan, it occurs in temperate and mixed broadleaf forests in three major river basins.
Its body is dark grey, with a white throat, belly, and vent and white streaks on the neck and upper breast. During breeding, its plumage becomes lighter grey.
In Bhutan, monitoring records from 2003 to 2022 covered heron counts, nests, fledglings and mortality. Each annual population count took place over five consecutive days at the start of breeding season, with an average of 70 surveyors across river transects. Nest checks continued through the breeding season, and mortality records were gathered year-round.
The long-term records showed low survival among young birds into the following year, making juvenile survival a key part of population planning.
In a population model, releasing five captive-reared birds each year and improving juvenile survival by 20% gave a 99% probability of growth over 30 years. Adult counts, nests and juvenile survival records were used in the conservation scenarios.
An extinction-risk assessment has not been added yet.
The population model projected a 99% probability of growth over 30 years when five captive-reared birds were released annually and juvenile survival improved by 20%.