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| Western Reef Egret Egretta gularis schistacea
- Territorial dispute |
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| Photographer : | © Prashant Gokarankar |
| Location : | Sewri Mudflat ecosystem, Mumbai, Maharashtra, India |
| Date : |
26 February 2013 |
| English synonyms: | Western Reef-Egret, Indian Reef Egret, Indian Reef Heron, Reef Heron, Arabian Reef Egret (schistacea), Red Sea Reef Heron (schistacea), Western Reef Heron |
| Bird Family : | Ardeidae - Egrets, Herons & Bitterns |
| Bird Group : | CICONIIFORMES |
| Red Data Status : | Least Concern |
| Remarks : | Sewri jetty is very noisy and crowded place throughout the day due to the noise of shipping work and people's visits. It was tuesday afternoon and I was alone that day and virtually lucky because there was no disturbance around. Birds were very close to me. I was clicking pictures of a Western Reef Heron and for a while my fingers started aching due to continuous clicks. I was having a break and I saw a Little Egret on my right side about 150 feet away from me. While feeding on fishes the Little Egret saw the Western Reef Heron, which was on the left side of me about 30 feet away. The Little Egret came flying and landed about 25 feet away from the Western Reef Heron. Then the Little Egret stepped towards the Western Reef Heron. Despite this, the Western Reef Heron remained reckless on the same place. When the Little Egret came close to the Western Reef Heron, both raised their necks and stared at each other. During this the Little Egret launched an attack by claws jumping on the Western Reef Heron. In return the Western Reef Heron did the same and knocked the Little Egret down, but the Little Egret got up again and dominated the Western Reef Heron and chases the Western Reef Heron away. - PG |
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