PELECANIDAE (2 species)

Pelecanus conspicillatus Australian Pelican
Cas Solomon Is (one breeding rec, Santa Anna 1952, Cain and Galbraith 1952; Nissan, Nuguria, Hadden 2004b), Vanuatu, New Caledonia, Aug-Dec Fiji, Aug-Jun NZ. Acc Palau, Norfolk I.
P. occidentalis Brown Pelican
P. o. urinator Res Galapagos Is.
F: 1300 throughout, esp northern islands (Chartier).
P. o. californicus Acc Guadalupe I, Cocos I (Montoya 2003), Revillagigedo Is (Socorro, San Benedicto, Brattstrom and Howell 1956).


ARDEIDAE (31 species)

Ixobrychus sinensis Yellow Bittern
Res Ogasawara Is, s Izu Is, Iwo Is, Palau, Mariana Is (Guam, Rota, Tinian, Saipan, vis Agiguan, Reichel and Glass 1991), Caroline Is (Yap, Truk, Pyle and Engbring 1985), Solomon Is (Bougainville, Hadden 2004a). Cas winter vis elsewhere Solomon Is.
F: Palau (seen Dec, de Vries; unc throughout, Engbring 1988); Mariana Is (Guam, Rota- seen, Klauber; f. common s. end Guam, Ord); Caroline Is (Yap: small nos, usually forested areas, Talbot, S. Smith; Chuuk- generally common, Klauber); Solomon Is (Bougainville: Aropa Ponds, Jaba Delta, Hadden 1981).
I. exilis Least Bittern
I. e. exilis? Acc Clipperton I.
I. minutus Little Bittern
The Australian form dubius is considered a species separate from minutus by some authors.
I. m. dubius Res New Caledonia (first seen Jan 2001, present and has bred since, Barre and Bachy 2003). Cas Lord Howe I (3 recs, McAllan et al 2004). Acc Feb NZ (SI, O'Donnell and Dilks 1988).
I. novaezelandiae New Zealand Little Bittern
Extinct. Res formerly NZ (SI, ?Chatham Is, Miskelly et al 2006).
I. eurhythmus Schrenk's Bittern
Res (summer only) Ogasawara Is. Acc Nov-Dec Palau.
I. cinnamomeus Cinnamon Bittern
Acc Iwo Is, Caroline Is (Yap Jul, Wiles et al 2000).
I. flavicollis Black Bittern
Sometimes treated as generically distinct, as Dupetor.
I. f. flavicollis Acc Mariana Is (Jun Guam).
I. f. woodfordi Res Solomon Is (Hadden 2004a).
This taxon is quite distinct from other subspecies (Mayr and Diamond 2001).
F: Solomon Is (Santa Isabel: unc Garanga R, first 2 recs, specs, Kratter et al 2001; Rennell: 1 L Tenggano, Hornbuckle).
Botaurus poiciloptilus Australasian Bittern
Res New Caledonia (Grande Terre, Loyalty Is: Ouvea, in Barre and Dutson 2000), NZ 580-725 prs (NI, SI, Stewart I, ?Chatham Is, Miskelly et al 2006). Acc Nov-Dec Lord Howe I (McAllan et al 2004).
F: New Caledonia: very rare, Barre and Dutson 2000; one heard in swamp near Le Cap River on west coast Nov 1998, Ekstrom et al 2002).
B. lentiginosus American Bittern
Acc Clipperton I.
Egretta intermedia Intermediate Egret
Sometimes treated as separate genus Mesophoyx, but recent studies suggest placement here (see Dickinson 2003).
Some authors include plumifera in intermedia.
E. i. intermedia Vis Oct-Mar Palau (where also a few in summer), Caroline Is (Yap, Truk incl Satawan Jul 2003, Buden 2006), Mariana Is (Guam, Rota, Tinian, Saipan, Guguan, Pagan, Reichel and Glass 1991). Cas Ogasawara and Iwo Is. Acc (this subsp?) Jun-Jul Hawaiian Is (Pyle 2002).
F: Palau (seen Dec, de Vries; usually with Cattle Egrets, Engbring 1988); Caroline Is (Chuuk- Klauber); Mariana Is (Rota- Klauber).
E. i. plumifera Cas Solomon Is (Aug Buka; Bougainville, Hadden 2004a; Jun Makira, Hornbuckle), Lord Howe I (2 recs, McAllan et al 2004), Norfolk I, May-Oct NZ (NI,SI).
E. novaehollandiae White-faced Heron
E. m. novaehollandiae Res New Caledonia (Grande Terre, Loyalty Is), Tonga (Tongatapu), Fiji (w Viti Levu, Mamanuca Is, Yasua Is, Penhallurick 2003; self-int 1997 Dutson and Watling 2007), Norfolk I 30 inds 2005 (Ewin), Lord Howe I, NZ (NI, SI), Chatham Is. Cas Solomon Is (May Bougainville, Hadden 2004a; Guadalcanal; Santa Cruz Is: Nendo, Dutson 2001), Vanuatu (Tanna, Aneiteu, Efate, Bregulla 1992, Dutson 2001), Jul Samoa (Manua), Mar Niue, Kermadec Is Mar-Nov, Veitch et al 2004), Campbell I, Snares Is, Auckland Is, Macquarie I.
E. caerulea Little Blue Heron
Cas Hawaiian Is. Acc Cocos I (Montoya 2003).
E. thula Snowy Egret
E. t. thula? Cas Aug-Apr Galapagos Is.
E. t. subsp? Cas Hawaiian Is, Revillagigedo Is (4 reported on Clarion Mar 1953 seen several times, Brattstrom and Howell 1956, and one seen there Nov 1971 by Brattstrom; suggested these might have been Cattle Egrets, Jehl and Parkes 1982, although Howell and Webb 1995 show this species for Clarion. AOU 1998 lists a sight record for Socorro). Acc Samoa (Rose I; considered hypo by Watling 2001), Clipperton I, Feb-Apr Cocos I (2 recs, Dean and Montoya 2005).
E. tricolor Tricolored Heron
E. t. occidentalis? Acc Revillagigedo Is, Cocos I (Montoya 2003).
E. garzetta Little Egret
E. g. garzetta Vis Apr-Sep Palau. Cas Ogasawara Is, Iwo Is, Caroline Is (Aug and Feb-Mar Yap, Wiles et al 2000; Pohnpei, Klauber), Mariana Is (Oct Saipan, R. David; Tinian, Agiguan, Penhallurick 2003; Rota Oct-Jan, Wiles et al 2000, Apr, Klauber; Guam, Pagan, Reichel and Glass 1991).
F: Palau (seen Koror Dec, de Vries; esp at Koror dump, Engbring 1988).
E. g. nigripes (includes immaculata). Cas mostly Apr-Sep Solomon Is (Mayr and Diamond 2001, Hadden 2004a), NZ (NI, SI; this subsp, Penhallurick 2003).
E. g. subsp? Cas Lord Howe I (2 recs: Apr and Oct-Nov, McAllan et al 2004), Norfolk I, Kermadec Is (Oct-Nov Raoul, Veitch et al 2004). Acc Macquarie I (Tasmania PWS).
F: Lord Howe I (seen Apr, Bielewicz).
E. sacra Pacific Reef-Egret
E. s. sacra (includes micronesiae) Res Mariana Is (Reichel and Glass 1991), Caroline Is (Yap, Truk, Pohnpei, Kosrae), Palau, Wake I, Marshall Is, Nauru, Kiribati (Gilbert Is, Phoenix Is, Line Is), Lord Howe I (Middleton Reef only- one nest 1973, McAllan et al 2004), NZ (NI, SI, Stewart I, Tuvalu, Tokelau Is, Wallis and Futuna, Fiji, Samoa, Tonga (incl Niuafoou, Rinke 1986), Cook Is (north to Suwarrow and Nassau, cas other northern islands, Holyoak 1980), Society Is, Marquesas Is, Tuamotu Is, Tubuai Is, Pitcairn Is (Oeno I; Henderson I, Bourne and David 1983). Vis Niue. Cas Chatham Is, Auckland Is. Acc Oct Lord Howe I (McAllan et al 2004). Hypo Kermadec Is (no definite records, Veitch et al 2004).
F: Palau (common, Engbring 1988). Caroline Is (seen daily all islands, Talbot, S. Smith).
E. s. albolineata Res Solomon Is (incl Green Is and Nuguria, Tarburton 2006, Tulun, Takuu, Nukumanu, Hadden 2004b), Vanuatu (this subsp, Penhallurick 2003), New Caledonia (Grande Terre, Loyalty Is).
F: Solomon Is (Buka; Ghizo, Kolombangara, Santa Isabel, common, Kratter 2001; seen, Hornbuckle; Florida Is: Mana I, Talbot; common, Hadden 2004a), New Caledonia (common coasts, mangroves, Barre and Dutson 2000).
Ardea cinerea Grey Heron
A. c. jouyi Cas Ogasawara Is, Iwo Is, Mariana Is (Saipan, Pratt et al 1987, Rota, Reichel and Glass 1991), Caroline Is (Nov, Feb Yap- Clements 2003). Hypo Palau (Pyle and Engbring 1985).
A. herodias Great Blue Heron
A. h. cognata Res Galapagos Is (except Wenman, Culpepper, Pinta, Marchena, Genovesa).
F: Galapagos Is (Santa Cruz: Black Turtle Cove; Rabida; Fernandina: Punta Espinosa, Chartier).
A. h. fannini? Cas Hawaiian Is.
A. h. hyperonca Vis Guadalupe I (AOU 1957).
A. h. subsp.? Vis Oct-Apr Guadalupe I, Revillagigedo Is. Acc Clipperton I, Feb-Apr Cocos I (2 records, Dean and Montoya 2005).
A. purpurea Purple Heron
A. p. manilensis Acc Iwo Is.
A. pacifica Pacific Heron
Cas Norfolk I, Kermadec Is (Nov Macauley, Veitch et al 2004), NZ.
A. modesta Eastern Great Egret
The taxon A. alba has been included within Ardea and Egretta, but appears to be intermediate between them (Howell and Webb 1995). Recent studies suggest that as many as 4 species may be involved, including South Asian and Australian birds modesta and New World egretta, and that all should be placed in Ardea (Christidis and Boles 2008).
A. modesta Res NZ 100-120 inds (SI, vis NI), Solomon Is (Buka, Bougainville, Rennell, Guadalcanal, Mayr and Diamond 2001, Penhallurick 2003, but "not known to nest" Bougainville and Buka, Hadden 2004a. Vis Santa Isabel, New Georgia Is, Bellona). Cas summer Ogasawara Is, Mariana Is (this subsp? several recs 1992-98, Wiles et al 2000; Oct Saipan- R. David), Caroline Is (this subsp? Feb Yap, Wiles et al 2000), New Caledonia (Apr-Oct, Barre and Bachy 2003), Fiji (Viti Levu, Kadavu), Lord Howe I (McAllan et al 2004), Norfolk I, Chatham Is, Auckland Is, Campbell I, Macquarie I. Acc Apr Snares Is (Miskelly et al 2001). A. modesta subsp? Cas Sep-Mar Ogasawara Is.
F: Solomon Is (Rennell: 2 L Tenggano, Hornbuckle).
A. egretta Great Egret
Res Galapagos Is. Cas Hawaiian Is, Revillagigedo Is. Acc Clipperton I, Apr-May Cocos I (2 records, Dean and Montoya 2005).
F: Galapagos Is (Fernandina: 2 at Punta Espinosa Jun-Jul, Chartier).
Bubulcus ibis Cattle Egret
This genus sometimes included in Ardea or Egretta; Christidis and Boles (2008) assigned it to Ardea.
B. i. coromandus Vis Ogasawara Is, Mariana Is (Reichel and Glass 1991), Palau, Caroline Is (Yap, Truk, Pohnpei), Apr-Jun and Nov-Dec Lord Howe I (McAllan et al 2004), Mar-Nov Norfolk I, Kermadec Is (May-Jun Raoul, Veitch et al 2004), Apr-Nov NZ, Chatham Is. Cas Marshall Is, New Caledonia (Apr-Oct, Barre and Bachy 2003), Snares Is. Acc Fiji (Oct 2003 Viti Levu, Dutson and Watling 2007). Macquarie I.
F: Palau (seen Dec, de Vries; common winter vis, summer flock 1978 Koror, Engbring 1988). Caroline Is (seen around airports, Talbot, S. Smith). Norfolk I (flock 28 in Jun Anson Bay Rd, Ewin).
B. i. ibis Res Galapagos Is. Int Hawaiian Is. Cas Guadalupe I, Revillagigedo Is, Cocos I (Dean and Montoya 2005). Acc Clipperton I, Tuamotu Is (Nov Mataiva, this subsp?, Pym).
F: Galapagos Is (seen mostly inland on Isabela, Floreana, San Cristobal, and Santa Cruz, Chartier).
Ardeola bacchus Chinese Pond Heron
Acc Ogasawara Is, Mariana Is (Guam, Reichel and Glass 1991; Wiles et al 2000).
Butorides virescens Green Heron
Sometimes considered conspecific with B. striata, but paucity or absence of mixed pairs and evidence for assortative mating in zones of contact suggests otherwise (AOU 1998; Hayes 2001). David and Gosselin (2002b) indicated that Butorides is feminine.
B. v. anthonyi? Cas Hawaiian Is.
B. v. subsp? Cas Revillagigedo Is. Acc Clipperton I, Cocos I (Montoya 2003).
B. striata Striated Heron
B. s. amurensis Cas Ogasawara Is, Iwo Is, Nov-Dec Palau, Mariana Is (Saipan, hypo Guam, Reichel and Glass 1991), Caroline Is (Yap Feb, Wiles et al 2000, Chuuk, Wiles et al 2000).
B. s. macrorhyncha Res New Caledonia (Grande Terre, very rare, Barre and Dutson 2000, Loyalty Is: Ouvea, more common than on Grande Terre, Barre and Dutson 2000).
B. s. solomonensis Res Solomon Is incl Bougainville and Buka (Hadden 2004a), Santa Cruz Is (Vanikoro Nov, Dutson 2001).
F: Solomon Is (Kolombangara: 1 near Kukundu, Richards; Santa Isabel: uncommon Garanga R, Kratter et al 2001; Ghizo: 2, Hornbuckle; Malaita: one, Hornbuckle; Florida Is: Mana I, Talbot).
B. s. diminuta Res Santa Cruz Is, Vanuatu, Fiji (Mayr and Diamond 2001). Cas Tonga (Tongatapu Grp). Acc (this subsp.?) Kermadec Is (spec labelled "Nycticorax caledonicus" prob this sp., Veitch et al 2004).
F: Fiji (Kadavu: bay e side airport, T. Clarke).
B. s. patruelis Res Society Is (Tahiti, duPont 1976).
B. s. sundevalli Sometimes considered specifically distinct from B. striata Striated Heron, but both, as well as intermediates, occur Galapagos Is (Hayes 2001, AOU 2003).
Res Galapagos Is.
F: F: Galapagos Is (21 on several islands, Chartier).
B. s. subsp.? Hypo Cocos I (Montoya 2003).
Nyctanassa violacea Yellow-crowned Night-Heron
N. v. pauper Res Galapagos Is.
F: Galapagos Is (7 in coastal areas Santa Cruz, Santiago, Champion, Espanola, Chartier).
N. v. bancrofti (incl gravirostris) Res Revillagigedo Is (Socorro I).
N. v. subsp? Cas Jan-Apr Cocos I (Dean and Montoya 2005).Acc Clipperton I.
Nycticorax nycticorax Black-crowned Night-Heron
N. n. nycticorax Vis Nov-Apr Palau, Mariana Is (Guam, Tinian, Saipan, Reichel and Glass 1991). Cas Ogasawara Is, Iwo Is, Caroline Is (Yap, Truk, Pohnpei, Pyle and Engbring 1985, Clements 2003).
N. n. hoactli Res Hawaiian Is. Acc Clipperton I, Galapagos Is.
N. caledonicus Rufous Night-Heron
N. c. crassirostris Extinct. Formerly res Ogasawara Is.
N. c. pelewensis Res Palau. Cas Caroline Is (Truk; Feb Yap, Wiles et al 2000; hypo Pohnpei, Pyle and Engbring 1985, Pratt et al 1987). Acc Mariana Is (Pagan, Reichel and Glass 1991).
F: Palau (seen Dec, de Vries; common coastal areas, Koror dump, Engbring 1988). Caroline Is (Truk: Weno and Tol South, S. Smith).
N. c. mandibularis Res Solomon Is (incl Nissan, Nuguria, Hadden 2004b).
F: Solomon Is (Buka and Bougainville: common, Hadden 2004a); Santa Isabel: common Garanga R, Kratter et al 2001; seen, Hornbuckle 1999; Makira, Ranongga: Hornbuckle).
N. c. caledonicus Res New Caledonia.
F: New Caledonia (Noumea, Quested; 1-2 near Tiakan Nov, T. Clarke).
N. c. hilli Res NZ (NI, 9 inds). Vis (this subsp?) L Howe I (2 recs Dec-Mar, McAllan et al 2004).
N. c. subsp? Poss res Fiji but extirpated after human arrival (Watling 2001). An old report from Samoa (Manua) of the night-heron "being found only on the island of Manua" suggests at least transient occurrence there (Armstrong 1932; pers. comm. Olivier Bazard).
Gorsachius goisagi Japanese Night-Heron
Cas Palau (Koror). Acc Ogasawara Is.
G. melanolophus Malayan Night-Heron
Acc Palau.


THRESKIORNITHIDAE (9 species)

Eudocimus albus White Ibis
Acc Clipperton I.
Plegadis falcinellus Glossy Ibis
Cas Solomon Is (Bougainville, Hadden 2004a; Buka: 2 in Aug, poss 1st rec, Gregory; Kolombangara), NZ (mostly Mar-Nov NI,SI). Acc Feb-Apr and Nov New Caledonia (Barre and Bachy 2003), Aug Fiji, May Lord Howe I (McAllan et al 2004), Chatham Is (Chatham).
F: Solomon Is (Bougainville: Jaba Delta, Hadden 1981).
P. chihi White-faced Ibis
Cas Hawaiian Is. Acc Revillagigedo Is (Clarion, Howell and Webb 1995), Clipperton I.
Threskiornis molucca Australian Ibis
Subspecies can be separated by size and plumage characters (HANZAB); pygmaeus is quite distinct (Mayr and Diamond 2001). Some authors include strictipennis in molucca.
T. m. molucca Acc Norfolk I (Penhallurick 2003).
T. m. strictipennis Cas mostly May-Jan NZ. Acc Sep Lord Howe I (McAllan et al 2004).
T. m. pygmaeus Res Solomon Is (Rennell, Bellona).
F: Solomon Is (Rennell: common, Richards).
T. spinicollis Straw-necked Ibis
Acc Lord Howe I (2 recs, McAllan et al 2004), Norfolk I.
T. melanocephalus Black-headed Ibis
Acc Nov Ogasawara Is (Chichijima).
Platalea regia Royal Spoonbill
Res NZ (NI, SI; Mar Chatham Is, Miskelly et al 2006). Vis Solomon Is (breeds? Rennell). Cas Solomon Is (Makira, Bellona), New Caledonia (Barre and Dutson 2000), Lord Howe I (4 recs Mar-Sep, McAllan et al 2004), Norfolk I. Acc Kermadec Is (Apr Raoul, Veitch et al 2004).
P. flavipes Yellow-billed Spoonbill
Cas Norfolk I, NZ (NI). Acc Mar-Apr Lord Howe I (McAllan et al 2004).
P. leucorodia White Spoonbill
P. l. leucorodia Acc Ogasawara Is (Mukojima).