Ardeinae

{{Automatic taxobox

| image = Ardea modesta.jpg

| image_caption = Eastern great egret (Ardea alba modesta)

| taxon = Ardeinae

| subdivision_ranks = Genera

| subdivision = 13, see text

}}

Ardeinae is a subfamily of herons, which includes the day herons, night herons, and egrets.

Taxonomy

=Extant Genera=

Image	Genus	Living species
class="wikitable"
175px	Nycticorax {{small\|T. Forster, 1817}} – typical night herons	* Black-crowned night heron, Nycticorax nycticorax Nankeen night heron or rufous night heron, Nycticorax caledonicus Rodrigues night heron, {{extinct}} Nycticorax megacephalus (extinct) Réunion night heron, {{extinct}} Nycticorax duboisi (extinct) Mauritius night heron, {{extinct}} Nycticorax mauritianus (extinct) Ascension night heron, {{extinct}} Nycticorax olsoni (extinct) Niue night heron, {{extinct}} Nycticorax kalavikai (prehistoric)
175px	Nyctanassa {{small\|Stejneger, 1887}} – American night herons	Yellow-crowned night heron, Nyctanassa violacea* Bermuda night heron, {{extinct}} Nyctanassa carcinocatactes
175px	Gorsachius {{small\|Bonaparte, 1855}} – Asian and African night herons	* Japanese night heron, Gorsachius goisagi Malayan night heron, Gorsachius melanolophus
175px	Butorides {{small\|Blyth, 1852}} – green-backed herons	little heron, Butorides atricapilla* green heron, Butorides virescens striated heron, Butorides striata lava heron, Butorides sundevalli
175px	Agamia {{small\|Reichenbach, 1853}} – Agami heron	Agami heron, Agamia agami*
175px	Pilherodius {{small\|Reichenbach, 1853}} – capped heron	* Capped heron, Pilherodius pileatus
175px	Ardeola {{small\|F. Boie, 1822}} – pond herons	* Indian pond heron, Ardeola grayii Squacco heron, Ardeola ralloides Chinese pond heron, Ardeola bacchus Javan pond heron, Ardeola speciosa Malagasy pond heron, Ardeola idae Rufous-bellied heron, Ardeola rufiventris
175px	Bubulcus {{small\|Bonaparte, 1855}} – cattle egrets	* Western cattle egret, Bubulcus ibis Eastern cattle egret, Bubulcus coromandus
175px	Ardea – typical herons	* Great blue heron, Ardea herodias Grey heron, Ardea cinerea Goliath heron, Ardea goliath Cocoi heron, Ardea cocoi White-necked heron or Pacific heron, Ardea pacifica Black-headed heron, Ardea melanocephala Humblot's heron, Ardea humbloti White-bellied heron, Ardea insignis Great-billed heron, Ardea sumatrana Purple heron, Ardea purpurea Great egret or great white egret, Ardea alba Intermediate egret, Ardea intermedia
175px	Syrigma {{small\|Ridgway, 1878}} – Whistling heron	* whistling heron, Syrigma sibilatrix
175px	Calherodius {{small\|Wagler, 1827}} - White-backed night heron	white-backed night heron, Calherodius leuconotus*
175px	Oroanassa {{small\|Ogilvie-Grant, 1899}} - White-eared night heron	white-eared night heron, Oroanassa magnifica*
175px	Egretta{{small\|T. Forster, 1817}} – typical egrets	* Pied heron, Egretta picata White-faced heron, Egretta novaehollandiae Reddish egret, Egretta rufescens Black heron, Egretta ardesiaca Slaty egret, Egretta vinaceigula Tricolored heron, Egretta tricolor – also known as Louisiana heron Little blue heron, Egretta caerulea Snowy egret, Egretta thula Little egret, Egretta garzetta Western reef heron, Egretta gularis Dimorphic egret, Egretta dimorpha Pacific reef heron, Egretta sacra – also known as Pacific reef egret or eastern reef heron Chinese egret, Egretta eulophotes {{extinct}} Egretta subfluvia, (Late Miocene or Early Pliocene)

=Fossils=

Genus {{extinct}}Proardea (fossil)
Genus {{extinct}}Zeltornis (fossil, Early Miocene of Djebel Zelten, Libya)
Genus undetermined
{{extinct}}Easter Island heron, Ardeidae gen. et sp. indet. (prehistoric)

References

{{Reflist|35em|refs=

{{cite journal|author1=Sheldon, Frederick H. |author2=McCracken, Kevin G. |author3=Stuebing, Keeley D. |year=1995|title= Phylogenetic relationships of the zigzag heron (Zebrilus undulatus) and white-crested bittern (Tigriornis leucolophus) estimated by DNA-DNA hybridization|journal=Auk|volume=112|issue=3|pages= 672–679|jstor = 4088682|url=http://sora.unm.edu/sites/default/files/journals/auk/v112n03/p0672-p0679.pdf}}

{{cite journal|author1=Sheldon, Frederick H. |author2=Jones, Clare E. |author3=McCracken, Kevin G. |year=2000 |title=Relative Patterns and Rates of Evolution in Heron Nuclear and Mitochondrial DNA |journal=Molecular Biology and Evolution |volume=17 |issue=3 |pages=437–450 |url=http://mercury.bio.uaf.edu/~kevin_mccracken/reprints/mbe-17-437.pdf |doi=10.1093/oxfordjournals.molbev.a026323 |pmid=10723744 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060907220949/http://mercury.bio.uaf.edu/~kevin_mccracken/reprints/mbe-17-437.pdf |archive-date=2006-09-07 |doi-access=free }}

}}