White-bellied Heron

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iWhite-bellied Heron
Conservation status
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Aves
Order: Ciconiiformes
Family: Ardeidae
Genus: Ardea
Species: A. insignis
Binomial name
Ardea insignis
Hume, 1878

The White-bellied Heron (Ardea insignis) is a species of heron. In India, it is found in East Himalayan foothills. Its grey foreneck and breast contrast with a white belly. In flight, it has a uniform dark grey upperwing and white underwing-coverts contrasting with dark grey flight feathers. In breeding plumage, it has a greyish-white nape plume and elongated grey breast feathers with white centres.

The White-bellied Heron is found in the wetlands of tropical and subtropical forests in North East India and Burma. The major threats the heron faces are hunting (both the bird itself and its eggs) and habitat destruction (the cutting of nesting trees and the disappearance of wetlands).

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