As a non-native english speaker and as somebody living in an area where
the problem does not occur anyway (Our only ardeid is the grey heron Ardea
cinerea), I should be doubly careful of meddling in intricate questions
like this. But I always think such discussions are interesting, although I
also think that you will get different answers, depending on who you ask.
In my feeling, all egrets are herons (In Norwegian and in Dutch they all
have the suffix -hegre, cq -reiger), but not all herons are egrets. That is
to say, the name egrets came into being for those herons (basically white
ones), that gave the plumes (aigrettes) for the millinery industry in the
time that such aigrettes were so popular in fashion, that many of the egret
species almost were eradicated by the plume industry. Those heron species
that yielded the best plumes, were themselves also called egrets, and that
name was later gradually extended to other heron species that in some way
were similar, usually those who also in taxonomy used to be united in the
genus Egretta. As usual in such cases, there was little logic in the
naming; Bubulcus ibis became the Cattle Egret (kuhegre= Cow heron in
Norwegian), while the quite similar looking Ardeola ralloides still is
called Squacco Heron. And in America the Tricolored Heron and the Reddish
Egret are close relatives, both often placed in the genus Egretta; and
Egretta caerulea, which is immacualtely white as a young bird, is the
Little Blue Heron, not L B egret.
So you see, incidental happenings and tradition played the main roles in
naming these birds, and in my opinion there are no clear criteria defining
herons and egrets. The best one can say, is that 'some herons are usually
called egrets', a name that has its origin in the millinery trade.
Maybe we should discuss doves vs pigeons next??
All the best to you all for 2005 from a winter-dark, but just now not
particularly cold Tromsø, N.Norway. Another month, and weæll have the sun back1
Wim Vader,
Tromsø Museum
9037 Tromsø,
Norway
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