Great Egret

Ardea alba

Order CICONIIFORMES - Family ARDEIDAE

Menu

1. Cool Facts
2. Description
3. Similar Species
4. Sound
5. Range
6. Habitat
7. Food
8. Behavior
9. Reproduction
10. Conservation Status
11. Other Names

A large white heron, the Great Egret is found across much of the world, from southern Canada southward to Argentina, and in Europe, Africa, Asia, and Australia. It's the largest egret in the Old World, and thus has garnered the name Great White Egret. But in the Americas, the white form of the Great Blue Heron is larger and warrants that name. In the United States, the Great Egret used to be called the American Egret but that was hardly appropriate, since the species range extends beyond America and indeed farther than other herons.

Cool Facts

• The Great Egret is the symbol of the National Audubon Society, one of the oldest environmental organizations in North America. Audubon was founded to protect birds from being killed for their feathers.

• Not all young that hatch survive the nestling period. Aggression among nestlings is common and large chicks frequently kill their smaller siblings.

• The longevity record for a wild Great Egret is nearly 23 years.

Description

• Size: 94-104 cm (37-41 in)
• Wingspan: 131-145 cm (52-57 in)
• Weight: 1000 g (35.3 ounces)

• Large, all white heron.
• Long, black legs and feet.
• Yellow bill is long, stout, and straight.
• Flies with neck pulled back in S-curve.

• Bill yellow with dark top edge.
• Long plumes on back during breeding.
• No crest or plumes on head.
• In high breeding, the bill becomes orange-yellow and the lores become lime-green.

Sex Differences

Sexes appear alike.

Immature

Looks like nonbreeding adult.

Similar Species

• Snowy Egret is smaller, has black bill, and yellow feet.
• Great White Heron, the white form of the Great Blue Heron, has a heavier bill, and pale, not black, legs.
• The white form of the Reddish Egret has a dark or bi-colored bill.
• The white juvenile of the Little Blue Heron has greenish legs, and a dark bill with a bluish base.
• Cattle Egret can have a yellow bill and black legs, but it is much shorter and stockier, and often has a reddish wash over the head, back, and chest.

Sound

A deep croak when disturbed. Other low calls around nest.

»listen to songs of this species

Range

Summer Range

Breeds in isolated locations in southern Canada and the northern United States. Common along coasts from Washington and Maine southward and the southern Mississippi River drainage. Wanders in summer to areas outside breeding range. Also found throughout the American tropics southward to southern Argentina, and in southern Europe, Asia, Africa, Australia, and New Zealand.

Winter Range

Winters from Oregon and New Jersey southward in breeding range. Also along rivers in southwestern United States.

Habitat

• Nests in colonies with other species, in shrubs and trees over water, and on islands.
• Feeds in variety of wetlands, including marshes, swamps, streams, rivers, ponds, lakes, tide flats, canals, and flooded fields.

Food

Fish, invertebrates, amphibians, reptiles, birds, and small mammals.

Behavior

Foraging

Walks slowly, stands and stabs prey with quick lunge of the bill.

Displays

Long plumes (aigrettes) held up over back in courtship displays around the nest.

Reproduction

Nest Type

Nests in colonies with other herons. Nest placed in trees or shrubs, made of sticks covered with green material.

Egg Description

Pale greenish-blue.

Clutch Size

Usually 3 eggs. Range: 1-6.

Condition at Hatching

Covered in long white down; can hold head up just after hatching.

Conservation Status

Plume hunters in the late 1800s and early 1900s reduced North American populations by more than 95 percent. The populations recovered after the birds were protected by law. No population is considered threatened, but the species is vulnerable to the loss of wetlands.

Other Names

Grande Aigrette (French)
Garza blanca, Garza grande, Garza real (Spanish)
Great White Egret (British) (English)

Sources used to construct this page:

McCrimmon, D. A., Jr., J. C. Ogden, and G. T. Bancroft. 2001. Great Egret (Ardea alba). In The Birds of North America, No. 570 (A. Poole and F. Gill, eds.). The Birds of North America, Inc., Philadelphia, PA.