Data Zone
Taxonomic note
Ardea intermedia, A. brachyrhyncha and A. plumifera (del Hoyo and Collar 2014) were previously placed in the genus Mesophoyx and lumped as M. intermedia following Sibley and Monroe (1990, 1993).
Taxonomic source(s)
del Hoyo, J., Collar, N.J., Christie, D.A., Elliott, A. and Fishpool, L.D.C. 2014. HBW and BirdLife International Illustrated Checklist of the Birds of the World. Volume 1: Non-passerines. Lynx Edicions BirdLife International, Barcelona, Spain and Cambridge, UK.
| Critically Endangered | Endangered | Vulnerable |
|---|---|---|
| - | - | - |
| Year | Category | Criteria |
|---|---|---|
| 2024 | Least Concern | |
| 2016 | Least Concern | |
| 2014 | Least Concern | |
| 2012 | Not Recognised | |
| 2008 | Not Recognised | |
| 2004 | Not Recognised | |
| 2000 | Not Recognised | |
| 1994 | Not Recognised | |
| 1988 | Not Recognised |
| Migratory status | not a migrant | Forest dependency | low |
| Land-mass type | Average mass | - |
| Estimate | Data quality | |
|---|---|---|
| Extent of Occurrence (breeding/resident) | 25,500,000 km2 | medium |
| Extent of Occurrence (non-breeding) | 26,100,000 km2 | medium |
| Severely fragmented? | no | - |
| Estimate | Data quality | Derivation | Year of estimate | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Population size | 16700-66700 mature individuals | - | - | 2023 |
| Population trend | increasing | - | suspected | - |
| Generation length | 6.24 years | - | - | - |
Population justification: The global population size is estimated at 25,000-100,000 individuals (Wetlands International 2023), which equates to 16,700-66,700 mature individuals. The overall population trend is suspected to be increasing over three generations (18.72 years) (Wetlands International 2023).
Trend justification: .
| Country/Territory | Presence | Origin | Resident | Breeding visitor | Non-breeding visitor | Passage migrant |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Angola | extant | native | yes | |||
| Benin | extant | native | yes | |||
| Botswana | extant | native | yes | |||
| Burkina Faso | extant | native | yes | |||
| Burundi | extant | native | yes | |||
| Cameroon | extant | native | yes | |||
| Cape Verde | extant | native | yes | |||
| Central African Republic | extant | native | yes | |||
| Chad | extant | native | yes | |||
| Congo | extant | native | yes | |||
| Congo, The Democratic Republic of the | extant | native | yes | |||
| Côte d'Ivoire | extant | native | yes | |||
| Eritrea | extant | native | yes | |||
| Eswatini | extant | native | yes | |||
| Ethiopia | extant | native | yes | |||
| Gabon | extant | native | yes | |||
| Gambia | extant | native | yes | |||
| Ghana | extant | native | yes | |||
| Guinea | extant | native | yes | |||
| Guinea-Bissau | extant | native | yes | |||
| Kenya | extant | native | yes | |||
| Lesotho | extant | native | yes | |||
| Liberia | extant | native | yes | |||
| Malawi | extant | native | yes | |||
| Mali | extant | native | yes | |||
| Mauritania | extant | native | yes | |||
| Mozambique | extant | native | yes | |||
| Namibia | extant | native | yes | |||
| Niger | extant | native | yes | |||
| Nigeria | extant | native | yes | |||
| Rwanda | extant | native | yes | |||
| Senegal | extant | native | yes | |||
| Seychelles | extant | vagrant | ||||
| Sierra Leone | extant | native | yes | |||
| Somalia | extant | native | yes | |||
| South Africa | extant | native | yes | |||
| South Sudan | extant | native | yes | |||
| Sudan | extant | native | yes | |||
| Tanzania | extant | native | yes | |||
| Togo | extant | native | yes | |||
| Uganda | extant | native | yes | |||
| Zambia | extant | native | yes | |||
| Zimbabwe | extant | native | yes |
| Country/Territory | IBA Name |
|---|---|
| Kenya | Tana River Delta |
| Mali | Koumbé Niasso |
| Mali | Lac Débo - Lac Oualado Débo |
| Senegal | Djoudj wetlands |
| Zambia | Kafue Flats |
| Habitat (level 1) | Habitat (level 2) | Importance | Occurrence |
|---|---|---|---|
| Artificial/Aquatic & Marine | Artificial/Aquatic - Irrigated Land (includes irrigation channels) | suitable | breeding |
| Artificial/Aquatic & Marine | Artificial/Aquatic - Irrigated Land (includes irrigation channels) | suitable | non-breeding |
| Artificial/Aquatic & Marine | Artificial/Aquatic - Ponds (below 8ha) | suitable | breeding |
| Artificial/Aquatic & Marine | Artificial/Aquatic - Ponds (below 8ha) | suitable | non-breeding |
| Artificial/Aquatic & Marine | Artificial/Aquatic - Seasonally Flooded Agricultural Land | suitable | breeding |
| Artificial/Aquatic & Marine | Artificial/Aquatic - Seasonally Flooded Agricultural Land | suitable | non-breeding |
| Forest | Subtropical/Tropical Mangrove Vegetation Above High Tide Level | suitable | breeding |
| Forest | Subtropical/Tropical Mangrove Vegetation Above High Tide Level | suitable | non-breeding |
| Forest | Subtropical/Tropical Swamp | suitable | breeding |
| Forest | Subtropical/Tropical Swamp | suitable | non-breeding |
| Grassland | Subtropical/Tropical Seasonally Wet/Flooded | suitable | breeding |
| Grassland | Subtropical/Tropical Seasonally Wet/Flooded | suitable | non-breeding |
| Marine Coastal/Supratidal | Coastal Brackish/Saline Lagoons/Marine Lakes | suitable | breeding |
| Marine Coastal/Supratidal | Coastal Brackish/Saline Lagoons/Marine Lakes | suitable | non-breeding |
| Marine Coastal/Supratidal | Coastal Freshwater Lakes | suitable | breeding |
| Marine Coastal/Supratidal | Coastal Freshwater Lakes | suitable | non-breeding |
| Marine Intertidal | Mud Flats and Salt Flats | suitable | breeding |
| Marine Intertidal | Mud Flats and Salt Flats | suitable | non-breeding |
| Marine Intertidal | Salt Marshes (Emergent Grasses) | suitable | breeding |
| Marine Intertidal | Salt Marshes (Emergent Grasses) | suitable | non-breeding |
| Marine Neritic | Estuaries | suitable | breeding |
| Marine Neritic | Estuaries | suitable | non-breeding |
| Wetlands (inland) | Bogs, Marshes, Swamps, Fens, Peatlands | suitable | breeding |
| Wetlands (inland) | Bogs, Marshes, Swamps, Fens, Peatlands | suitable | non-breeding |
| Wetlands (inland) | Permanent Freshwater Lakes (over 8ha) | suitable | breeding |
| Wetlands (inland) | Permanent Freshwater Lakes (over 8ha) | suitable | non-breeding |
| Wetlands (inland) | Permanent Inland Deltas | suitable | breeding |
| Wetlands (inland) | Permanent Inland Deltas | suitable | non-breeding |
| Wetlands (inland) | Permanent Rivers/Streams/Creeks (includes waterfalls) | suitable | breeding |
| Wetlands (inland) | Permanent Rivers/Streams/Creeks (includes waterfalls) | suitable | non-breeding |
| Wetlands (inland) | Permanent Saline, Brackish or Alkaline Marshes/Pools | suitable | breeding |
| Wetlands (inland) | Permanent Saline, Brackish or Alkaline Marshes/Pools | suitable | non-breeding |
| Wetlands (inland) | Seasonal/Intermittent Freshwater Lakes (over 8ha) | suitable | breeding |
| Wetlands (inland) | Seasonal/Intermittent Freshwater Lakes (over 8ha) | suitable | non-breeding |
| Wetlands (inland) | Seasonal/Intermittent Freshwater Marshes/Pools (under 8ha) | suitable | breeding |
| Wetlands (inland) | Seasonal/Intermittent Freshwater Marshes/Pools (under 8ha) | suitable | non-breeding |
| Wetlands (inland) | Seasonal/Intermittent Saline, Brackish or Alkaline Lakes and Flats | suitable | breeding |
| Wetlands (inland) | Seasonal/Intermittent Saline, Brackish or Alkaline Lakes and Flats | suitable | non-breeding |
| Altitude | 0 - 1450 m | Occasional altitudinal limits |
| Threat (level 1) | Threat (level 2) | Impact and Stresses | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Biological resource use | Logging & wood harvesting - Unintentional effects: (subsistence/small scale) [harvest] | Timing | Scope | Severity | Impact | ||||
| Ongoing | Minority (<50%) | Slow, Significant Declines | Low Impact: 5 | ||||||
|
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| Climate change & severe weather | Habitat shifting & alteration | Timing | Scope | Severity | Impact | ||||
| Future | Minority (<50%) | Unknown | Unknown | ||||||
|
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| Invasive and other problematic species, genes & diseases | Invasive non-native/alien species/diseases - Bubalus bubalis | Timing | Scope | Severity | Impact | ||||
| Ongoing | Minority (<50%) | Slow, Significant Declines | Low Impact: 5 | ||||||
|
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| Invasive and other problematic species, genes & diseases | Invasive non-native/alien species/diseases - Mimosa pigra | Timing | Scope | Severity | Impact | ||||
| Ongoing | Minority (<50%) | Slow, Significant Declines | Low Impact: 5 | ||||||
|
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| Invasive and other problematic species, genes & diseases | Invasive non-native/alien species/diseases - Salvinia molesta | Timing | Scope | Severity | Impact | ||||
| Ongoing | Minority (<50%) | Slow, Significant Declines | Low Impact: 5 | ||||||
|
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| Natural system modifications | Dams & water management/use - Abstraction of surface water (agricultural use) | Timing | Scope | Severity | Impact | ||||
| Ongoing | Minority (<50%) | Slow, Significant Declines | Low Impact: 5 | ||||||
|
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| Natural system modifications | Fire & fire suppression - Increase in fire frequency/intensity | Timing | Scope | Severity | Impact | ||||
| Ongoing | Minority (<50%) | Slow, Significant Declines | Low Impact: 5 | ||||||
|
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| Pollution | Domestic & urban waste water - Type Unknown/Unrecorded | Timing | Scope | Severity | Impact | ||||
| Ongoing | Minority (<50%) | Slow, Significant Declines | Low Impact: 5 | ||||||
|
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| Pollution | Industrial & military effluents - Seepage from mining | Timing | Scope | Severity | Impact | ||||
| Ongoing | Minority (<50%) | Slow, Significant Declines | Low Impact: 5 | ||||||
|
|||||||||
| Purpose | Scale |
|---|---|
| Food - human | subsistence, national |
| Other household goods | subsistence, national |
| Pets/display animals, horticulture | subsistence, national |
Recommended citation
BirdLife International (2024) Species factsheet: Yellow-billed Egret Ardea brachyrhyncha. Downloaded from
https://datazone.birdlife.org/species/factsheet/yellow-billed-egret-ardea-brachyrhyncha on 23/12/2024.
Recommended citation for factsheets for more than one species: BirdLife International (2024) IUCN Red List for birds. Downloaded from
https://datazone.birdlife.org/species/search on 23/12/2024.