White-bellied Heron

About the White-bellied Heron

The white-bellied heron (Ardea insignis) also known as the imperial heron or great white-bellied heron, is a large heron species living in the foothills of the eastern Himalayas in northeast India and Bhutan to northern Myanmar. It inhabits undisturbed rivers and wetlands. It has been listed as Critically Endangered on the IUCN Red List since 2007, because the global population is estimated at fewer than 250 mature individuals and threatened by habitat loss and human disturbance. It is mostly dark grey with a white throat and underparts.

The scientific name Ardea insignis was suggested by Brian Houghton Hodgson in 1844; he had presented a zoological specimen to the British Museum but a description was not published. This name was therefore considered a nomen nudum. In 1878, Allan Octavian Hume described the differences between the white-bellied and the great-billed heron (Ardea sumatrana) while using the binomial name suggested by Hodgson. E. C. Stuart Baker gave the name Ardea imperialis in 1929 to replace Hodgson's nomen nudum. It was used until 1963, when Biswamoy Biswas commented on Sidney Dillon Ripley's synoptic list and noted that Ardea insignis Hume had priority... Wikipedia →