White-bellied Heron

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News: The Forest Advisory Committee has given in-principle approval for a hydropower project in an area of Arunachal Pradesh that serves as a habitat for the White-bellied Heron.

About White-bellied Heron

White-bellied Heron
Source: Birds of the World
Aspects Description 
About
  • The white-bellied heron is a large heron species.
  • It is the second-largest heron.
  • It is also known as the imperial heron or great white-bellied heron.
Scientific name
  • Its scientific name is Ardea insignis.
Habitat
  • It prefers habitats with fast-flowing rivers and forests.
  • It inhabits the wetlands of tropical and subtropical forests in the foothills of the eastern Himalayas of northeast India and Myanmar.
Distribution
  • Today, it is found only in parts of Arunachal Pradesh, Myanmar, and Bhutan, in regions that are relatively undisturbed by development.
    • In the early 1900s, the bird was found across Nepal, Sikkim, Arunachal Pradesh, Bangladesh, and Myanmar.
Appearance
  • It has a uniform dark grey plumage, a whitish belly and long silvery or whitish plumes on the rear crown and lower fore-neck.
  • It has a relatively long neck, a compact body, short legs, and large, well-developed toes.
  • Its elongated and highly flexible neck, combined with a sharp, serrated bill, enables it to efficiently catch fish even in deep water.
  • The face is greenish-grey and has long bill black, but greenish near the base and tip.
  • The legs and feet are dull grey.
  • Weight: Its mean weight is estimated at 3.2–3.4 kg.
  • In breeding plumage, it has a greyish-white nape plume and elongated grey breast feathers with white centres.
Diet
  • It feeds primarily on aquatic prey, mainly fish.
Behaviour
  • It needs clear, shallow, and fast-flowing river streams to fish.
  • It waits for the fish to come, and unlike other herons, they don’t move around too much.
SignificanceIt is an indicator species of a pristine habitat.
Threats
    • Habitat loss
    • Increasing disturbance and habitat degradation due to conversion of wetlands for agriculture and expansion of settlements, harvesting of wetland resources and poaching
Conservation status
  • Wildlife Protection Act,1972: Schedule I
  • IUCN Red List: Critically Endangered 
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