Chinese Egret (Egretta eulophotes) - BirdLife species factsheet

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VU	Chinese Egret Egretta eulophotes

2010 IUCN Red List Category (as evaluated by BirdLife International - the official Red List Authority for birds for IUCN): Vulnerable

Justification This species has a small, declining population, principally as a result of the reclamation of tidal mudflats and estuarine habitats for industry, infrastructure development and aquaculture. These factors qualify it as Vulnerable.

Family/Sub-family Ardeidae

Species name author (Swinhoe, 1860)

Taxonomic source(s) AOU checklist (1998 + supplements), Sibley and Monroe (1990, 1993)

Identification 68 cm. Full-crested, white egret with yellow bill. Breeding adults have blue facial skin, shortish, shaggy nape plumes, long back and breast plumes, blackish legs and greenish-yellow feet. Similar spp. White morph Pacific Reef Egret E. sacra has shorter, less pointed bill and shorter legs. Little Egret E. garzetta shows more contrast between yellow feet and black legs and has less extensive pale area on lower mandible.

Population estimate	Population trend	Range estimate (breeding/resident)	Country endemic?
2,600 - 3,400	decreasing	94,000 km²	No

Range & population Egretta eulophotes breeds on small islands off the coasts of eastern Russia, North Korea, South Korea and mainland China. It formerly bred in Taiwan (China) and Hong Kong (China), but is now only a non-breeding visitor or passage migrant. It is also a non-breeding visitor to Japan, the Philippines, Vietnam, Thailand, Peninsular and eastern Malaysia (Sarawak), Singapore, Indonesia (Sumatra, Java, Kalimantan and Sulawesi) and Brunei. Key wintering areas are the Eastern Visayas (Leyte, Bohol and Cebu), Philippines, and the Malaysian states of Sarawak and Selangor where 30-50% of the global populaton are believed to winter based on winter counts in 2004/2005². The population is estimated at 2,600-3,400 birds. There has been no significant decline in this species in the last ten years¹, and recent discoveries of new colonies off southern China may represent increased observer effort, but possibly indicate some improvement in the species's status.

Important Bird Areas Click here to view map showing IBAs where species is recorded and triggers any of the IBA criteria.

Ecology: It occurs in shallow tidal estuaries, mudflats and bays, occasionally visiting paddy-fields and fishponds. Since 1985, all breeding records have been from offshore islands.

Threats By the end of the 19th century, it had almost been extirpated by trade in its plumes and persecution. Today, the greatest threat is habitat loss and degradation through reclamation of tidal flats and estuarine habitats for infrastructure, industry, aquaculture and agriculture, and through pollution. Fishers in Liaoning, China, collect eggs for food and breeding birds are threatened by disturbance. The rapid decline of a colony at Shin-do, South Korea, in the early 1990s, was apparently a result of disturbance by photographers.

Conservation measures underway CMS Appendix I. It is legally protected in Russia, China (including Hong Kong), Taiwan, and South Korea. Some important breeding, staging and wintering sites are protected, including the Far Eastern Marine Reserve (Russia) and sites in China, including Hong Kong, Taiwan, North Korea, South Korea, Vietnam and the Philippines.

Conservation measures proposed Survey the coast of China, North Korea and South Korea for breeding sites and monitor existing sites. Survey its wintering range for new sites and establish a winter monitoring programme. Create a network of environmentally stable sites for it in the central Philippines. Extend the boundaries of the Far Eastern Marine Reserve to include the coast between the Tumen river mouth and Pos'yet Bay (Russia). Establish as protected areas Thai Thuy in the Red River delta and Bai Boi in the Mekong delta (Vietnam). Incorporate mudflats and mangroves near Krabi within the Hat Nopparat Tara National Park (Thailand). Establish protected areas at Pulau Bruit, Sarawak (Malaysia). Prohibit egg-collecting in the breeding grounds in China and North Korea.

References Birdlife International (2001). 1. Simba Chan in litt. (2002). 2. Li (2006).

Further web sources of information

Fully detailed species accounts from the Threatened birds of Asia: the BirdLife International Red Data Book (BirdLife International 2001), together with new information collated since the publication of the Red Data Book

Text account compilers Phil Benstead (BirdLife International), Jeremy Bird (BirdLife International), Simba Chan (Wild Bird Society of Japan), Mike Crosby (BirdLife International), Nic Peet (BirdLife International)

Contributors Simba Chan (Wild Bird Society of Japan)

IUCN Red List evaluators Jeremy Bird (BirdLife International), Stuart Butchart (BirdLife International), Mike Crosby (BirdLife International)

Recommended citation BirdLife International (2010) Species factsheet: Egretta eulophotes. Downloaded from http://www.birdlife.org on 30/7/2010

This information is based upon, and updates, the information published in BirdLife International (2000) Threatened birds of the world. Barcelona and Cambridge, UK: Lynx Edicions and BirdLife International, BirdLife International (2004) Threatened birds of the world 2004 CD-ROM and BirdLife International (2008) Threatened birds of the world 2008 CD-ROM. These sources provide the information for species accounts for the birds on the IUCN Red List.

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