Reddish Egrets Are July Birds on the 2022 Audubon Calendar

Summary: Reddish egrets are July birds on the 2022 Audubon calendar by which the National Audubon Society appreciates 12 vulnerable birds in the United States.

reddened reflection of reddish egret (Egretta rufescens); Friday, Nov. 25, 2016, 08:47: Charles Patrick Ewing, CC BY 2.0 Generic, via Wikimedia Commons

Reddish egrets are July birds on the 2022 Audubon calendar by which the National Audubon Society appreciates, month by month, 12 most vulnerable birds in the United States throughout the current year.

Fish ponds bring Pelecaniformes (from Greek πελεκάν via Latin pelicānus, “pelican” and Latin -fōrmēs, “-shaped”) waterbird members from southeast and southwest coastal lagoons, mudflats and keys. That order’s Ardeidae (from Latin ardea, “heron” and Greek - ειδής via Latin –idæ, “-like”) bittern, egret and heron family member consumes crabs, fish and shrimp. Breeding-season months March through September direct reddish egrets to dwellings ground level 15 to 30 feet (4.67 to 9.14 meters) above non-woody and woody plant bases.

Three- to 4-inch- (76.2- to 101.6-millimeter-) deep, 8- to 10-inch- (203.2- to 254-millimeter-) tall nests entwine dry grasses or thin roots, stems, sticks into solid structures.

Dried-grass linings fit into ground-level and platform nests with 10- to 12-inch (254- to 304.8-millimeter) inside diameters and 12- to 26-inch (304.8- to 660.4-millimeter) outside diameters.

Physically and sexually mature females annually gestate one 3- to 4-, maximally 7-egg brood, with co-mate nest-building, 21- to 36-day incubating and 9- to 10-week parenting. Elliptical to semi-elliptical, non-glossy, pale blue-green, 1.83- to 2.19-inch- (4.65- to 5.56-centimeter-) long, 1.42- to 1.64-inch- (3.6- to 4.17-centimeter-) wide eggs herald 28- to 46-day nestlings. Smooth-egg incubations issue semi-altricial (semi-helpless, from Latin altrix, “nourisher”) nestlings with black-olive bills, feet, legs; cinnamon-gray heads and necks; down-topped heads; smoke-gray upper-bodies; and sparse-down underbodies.

Habitat loss from coastal development and sea level rise from climate change jeopardize reddish egrets and justify them as July birds on the 2022 Audubon calendar.

Coastal Belize, coastal Mexico and dependencies, island countries and territories in Greater Antilles, Lesser Antilles and Lucayan Archipelago kindle breeding colonies of reddish egrets each year.

Nestling reddish egrets learn flying as 28-day-olds, such that 46-day-olds log the strong flights of their parents, with deep, steady wingbeats, shoulder-coiled necks and trailing legs. Juvenile reddish egrets may manifest dark-footed, dark-legged, heavy dark-billed, white-bodied, white-headed, white-winged forms to which physical and sexual maturity musters black-tipped pink bills and shaggy necks. Dark-morphed forms of juvenile and mature reddish egrets net black-tipped, heavy, pink bills; gray feet, legs, underbodies, upper-bodies and wings; and ruddy chests, heads and necks.

Dark-formed physically and sexually mature reddish egrets offer shaggily rufescent (from Latin rūfēscēns, “reddening”) chests and necks and rufous (from Latin rūfus, “red”) heads and necks.

The white-form reddish egret (Egretta rufescens [“egret reddening, plume reddish” literally), with dark-form-like black-tipped, heavy pink bill, poses as July birds on the 2022 Audubon calendar.

Reddish egrets, quested taxonomically by Johann Friedrich Gmelin (Aug. 8, 1748-Nov. 1, 1804), qualify as mature as 3- to 4-year-olds and long-lived as 10- to 12-year-olds. Reddish egret maturity realizes 26- to 32-inch (66- to 81-centimeter) lengths, 3.5- to 4-foot (1.1- to 1.2-meter) wingspans and 25- to 30-ounce (700- to 850-gram) weights. They share grunting, low-pitched, throaty aww-unh and aww-unh-unh sounds and showcase successful, super-swift stabs while they spread, canopy-feeding style, broad, round, shadow-casting wings over saltwater prey.

Dagger-shaped bills, forward-facing eyes, kinked necks, long- and slender-toed long legs and short tails trigger photogenic reddish egrets as July birds on the 2022 Audubon calendar.

white morph of reddish egret (Egretta rufescens); Fort De Soto State Park, Pinellas County, west central coastal Florida; Thursday, April 17, 2014, 15:39: Gareth Rasberry, CC BY SA 3.0 Unported, via Wikimedia Commons

Acknowledgment

My special thanks to talented artists and photographers/concerned organizations who make their fine images available on the internet.

Image credits:

reddened reflection of reddish egret (Egretta rufescens); Friday, Nov. 25, 2016, 08:47: Charles Patrick Ewing, CC BY 2.0 Generic, via Wikimedia Commons @ https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Reddish_Egret_Reflection.jpg: Charles Patrick Ewing, CC BY 2.0 Generic, via Flickr @ https://www.flickr.com/photos/132033298@N04/31902695852/

white morph of reddish egret (Egretta rufescens); Fort De Soto State Park, Pinellas County, west central coastal Florida; Thursday, April 17, 2014, 15:39: Gareth Rasberry, CC BY SA 3.0 Unported, via Wikimedia Commons @ https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Reddish_Egret_(White_Morph).JPG

For further information:

Baicich, Paul J.; and Colin J. O. Harrison. 2005. "Reddish Egret (Egretta rufescens)." Page 64. In: Nests, Eggs, and Nestlings of North American Birds. Second edition. Princeton NJ; and Woodstock, Oxfordshire, England: Princeton University Press.

Bull, John; and John Farrand, Jr. 1997. "Reddish Egret Egretta rufescens." Pages 371-372. In: National Audubon Society Field Guide to North American Birds: Eastern Region. Revised by John Farrand, Jr. Second edition. A Chanticleer Press Edition. New York NY: Borzoi Book, Alfred A. Knopf, Inc.; and Toronto [Ontario, Canada]: Random House of Canada Limited.

Howell, Catherine Herbert (Writer); and Mary B. Dickinson (Editor). 1999. "Reddish Egret Egretta rufescens." Pages 58-59. In: Field Guide to the Birds of North America. Third Edition. Washington DC: National Geographic Society.

Marriner, Derdriu. 4 June 2022. "American Oystercatchers Are June Birds on the 2022 Audubon Calendar." Earth and Space News. Saturday.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2022/06/american-oystercatchers-are-june-birds.html

Marriner, Derdriu. 5 May 2022. "Rose-Breasted Grosbeaks Are May Birds on the 2022 Audubon Calendar." Earth and Space News. Sunday.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2022/05/rose-breasted-grosbeaks-are-may-birds.html

Marriner, Derdriu. 10 April 2022. "Crested Caracaras Appear as April Birds on the 2022 Audubon Calendar." Earth and Space News. Sunday.<
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2022/04/crested-caracaras-appear-as-april-birds.html

Marriner, Derdriu. 19 March 2022. "Cerulean Warblers Are March Birds on the 2022 Audubon Calendar." Earth and Space News. Saturday.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2022/03/cerulean-warblers-are-march-birds-on.html

Marriner, Derdriu. 5 February 2022. "Northern Bobwhites Are February Birds on the 2022 Audubon Calendar." Earth and Space News. Saturday.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2022/02/northern-bobwhites-are-february-birds.html

Marriner, Derdriu. 1 January 2022. "Florida Scrub-Jays Are January Birds on the 2022 Audubon Calendar." Earth and Space News. Saturday.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2022/01/florida-scrub-jays-are-january-birds-on.html

Peterson, Roger Tory. 2010. "Reddish Egret Egretta rufescens." Pages 76-77. In: Peterson Field Guide to Birds of Eastern and Central North America. With contributions from Michael Di Giorgio, Paul Lehman, Michael O'Brien and Jeffrey A. Gordon, Larry Rosche, [and] Bill Thompson. Sixth Edition. Boston MA; and New York NY: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt.

Peterson, Roger Tory. 1947. "Reddish Egret. Dichromanassa rufescens rufescens." Page 15. In: A Field Guide to the Birds Giving Field Marks of all Species Found East of the Rockies. The Peterson Field Guide Series. Second Revised and Enlarged Edition. Boston MA: Houghton Mifflin Company.

"Reddish egret Egretta rufescens." Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission > How Can We Help You? > Discover Wildlife > Wildlife Viewing > Additional Wildlife Viewing Resources > Species Profiles > Showing All 406 Species.
Available @ https://myfwc.com/wildlifehabitats/profiles/birds/waterbirds/reddish-egret/

Robbins, Charles S.; Bertel Bruun; and Herbert S. Zim. 2001. "Reddish Egret Egretta rufescens." Pages 96-97. In: Birds of North America. Revised by Jonathan P. Latimer and Karen Stray Nolting and James Coe. New York NY: St. Martin's Press.

Robbins, Chandler S., Bertel Bruun, with Herbert S. Zim. 1983. "Reddish Egret Egrétta ruféscens." Page 96. In: Birds of North America. A Guide to Field Identification. New York NY: Golden Press; and Racine WI: Western Publishing Company.

Stokes, Donald and Lillian. 1996. "Reddish Egret Egretta rufescens." Page 38. In: Stokes Field Guide to Birds: Eastern Region. Boston [MA]; New York [NY]; Toronto [Ontario, Canada]; and London [England UK]: Little, Brown and Company.

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