Agamia agami: Agami Heron

Agami Heron - Agamia agami
( Gmelin, 1789 )

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Subspecies:	Unknown
Est. World Population:	U

CITES Status:	NOT LISTED
IUCN Status:	Near Threatened
U.S. ESA Status:	NOT LISTED

Body Length:
Tail Length:
Shoulder Height:
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Top Speed:
Jumping Ability:	(Horizontal)

Life Span:	in the Wild
Life Span:	in Captivity

Sexual Maturity:	(Females)
Sexual Maturity:	(Males)
Litter Size:
Gestation Period:

Habitat:

This species occurs in swampy stream and lake margins within tropical forest, and also in seasonal marshes and coastal mangroves. It tends to remain in lowlands under 300 m in elevation, but has been recorded at 2,600 m in Colombia's east Andes. Fish are its primary food source, with cichlids (Aequidens) and characins (Triportheus, Astyanax) recorded as prey. The breeding season appears to coincide with the arrival of rains; nest building occurs between June and September in both Costa Rica and Venezuela, and between April and June in French Guiana, corresponding to the rainy season (O. Claessens and V. Pelletier in litt. 2020, Martínez-Vilalta et al. 2020). The species is colonial, but individuals may disperse during the non-breeding season (Stier et al. 2017). Nests are built in a tree or bush 1-3 m above water (Martínez-Vilalta et al. 2020).

Range:

Agamia agami is a Neotropical species, and is generally scarce throughout its distribution. Its range extends from east Mexico in the north through Guatemala, Belize, Honduras, Nicaragua, Costa Rica and Panama into Colombia. From there, the range extends further south east of the Andes through Ecuador and Peru to Bolivia, and east into Venezuela, Guyana, Suriname, French Guiana and across north and central Brazil.

Conservation:

Conservation Actions Underway
The species is listed as Vulnerable at the national level in Ecuador (Freile et al. 2019) and as Near Threatened in French Guiana (UICN France et al. 2017). A conservation action plan was published in 2015 (Stier and Kushlan 2015). It occurs in several protected areas across its range; the main breeding colony in French Guiana is located within the Kaw-Roura National Natural Reserve (O. Claessens and V. Pelletier in litt. 2020).

Conservation Actions Proposed
Survey to accurately quantify the population size and trends. Develop studies to better understand the species' ecological requirements. Monitor the population trend. Monitor rates of habitat loss.
Expand the protected area network to effectively protect key sites, including important breeding and feeding areas. Effectively manage protected areas, utilising emerging opportunities to finance protected area management with the joint aims of reducing carbon emissions and maximizing biodiversity conservation. Incentivise conservation on private lands through expanding market pressures for sound land management and preventing forest clearance on lands unsuitable for agriculture (Soares-Filho et al. 2006).