About Ardeola bacchus (Bonaparte, 1855)
Size
The Chinese pond heron (Ardeola bacchus) is typically 47 cm (19 in) long.
Non-breeding Physical Features
It has white wings, a yellow bill with a black tip, and yellow eyes and legs.
Seasonal Plumage
During the breeding season, its overall plumage is a mix of red, blue, and white; outside of breeding season, it is greyish-brown flecked with white.
General Habitat
This heron occurs in shallow fresh and saltwater wetlands and ponds across China and adjacent temperate and subtropical East Asia.
Range Boundaries
It is essentially a lowland bird, and its native range is bounded by subarctic regions to the north, and mountain ranges to the west and south.
Vagrant Records Introduction
The species is known to sometimes wander beyond its usual range as a vagrant.
Burma Vagrant Sighting
On April 8, 1995, one individual in breeding plumage was sighted on a river at Bonzon near Gangaw, just inside Chin State, Burma, west of the species' normal range.
North America Vagrant Sighting
A stray individual that stopped over on Saint Paul Island, Alaska from August 4 to 9, 1997 marked the first recorded occurrence of this species in North America.
Diet
The Chinese pond heron feeds on insects, fish, and crustaceans.
Reproduction
It often nests in mixed-species heronries, and lays a clutch of 3 to 6 blue-green eggs per brood.
Conservation Status
It is fairly common, and is not classified as a threatened species by the IUCN.
