The great egret (''Ardea alba''), also known as the common egret, large egret, or (in the
Old World) great white egret or great white heron
[ is a large, widely distributed ]egret
Egrets ( ) are herons, generally long-legged wading birds, that have white or buff plumage, developing fine plumes (usually milky white) during the breeding season. Egrets are not a biologically distinct group from herons and have the same buil ...
. The four subspecies are found in Asia, Africa, the Americas, and southern Europe. Recently it is also spreading to more northern areas of Europe. Distributed across most of the tropical
The tropics are the regions of Earth surrounding the Equator. They are defined in latitude by the Tropic of Cancer in the Northern Hemisphere at N and the Tropic of Capricorn in
the Southern Hemisphere at S. The tropics are also referred to ...
and warmer temperate
In geography, the temperate climates of Earth occur in the middle latitudes (23.5° to 66.5° N/S of Equator), which span between the tropics and the polar regions of Earth. These zones generally have wider temperature ranges throughout t ...
regions of the world, it builds tree nests in colonies close to water.
Taxonomy and systematics
Like all egrets, it is a member of the heron family
Family (from la, familia) is a group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or affinity (by marriage or other relationship). The purpose of the family is to maintain the well-being of its members and of society. Idea ...
, Ardeidae. Traditionally classified with the storks in the Ciconiiformes, the Ardeidae are closer relatives of pelicans and belong in the Pelecaniformes, instead. The great egret—unlike the typical egrets—does not belong to the genus
Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms as well as viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus comes above species and below family. In binomial n ...
''Egretta
''Egretta'' is a genus of medium-sized herons, mostly breeding in warmer climates.
Representatives of this genus are found in most of the world, and the little egret, as well as being widespread throughout much of the Old World, has now started ...
'', but together with the great herons is today placed in '' Ardea''. In the past, however, it was sometimes placed in ''Egretta'' or separated in a monotypic
In biology, a monotypic taxon is a taxonomic group (taxon) that contains only one immediately subordinate taxon. A monotypic species is one that does not include subspecies or smaller, infraspecific taxa. In the case of genera, the term "unispec ...
genus ''Casmerodius''.
The Old World population is often referred to as the "great white egret". This species is sometimes confused with the great white heron of the Caribbean, which is a white morph of the closely related great blue heron
The great blue heron (''Ardea herodias'') is a large wading bird in the heron family Ardeidae, common near the shores of open water and in wetlands over most of North America and Central America, as well as the Caribbean and the Galápagos ...
.
The scientific name comes from Latin
Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power ...
''ardea'', "heron", and ''alba'', "white".
Subspecies
Four subspecies are found in various parts of the world, which differ but little.[ Differences among them include bare-part coloration in the breeding season and size. The smallest subspecies, ''A. a. modesta'', is from Asia and ]Australasia
Australasia is a region that comprises Australia, New Zealand and some neighbouring islands in the Pacific Ocean. The term is used in a number of different contexts, including geopolitically, physiogeographically, philologically, and ecolo ...
and some taxonomists consider it to be a full species, the eastern great egret (''Ardea modesta''), but most scientists treat it as a subspecies.
* ''A. a. alba'' Linnaeus
Carl Linnaeus (; 23 May 1707 – 10 January 1778), also known after his ennoblement in 1761 as Carl von Linné Blunt (2004), p. 171. (), was a Swedish botanist, zoologist, taxonomist, and physician who formalised binomial nomenclature, t ...
, 1758 – nominate, found in Europe
Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a subcontinent of Eurasia and it is located enti ...
and across the Palearctic
The Palearctic or Palaearctic is the largest of the eight biogeographic realms of the Earth. It stretches across all of Eurasia north of the foothills of the Himalayas, and North Africa.
The realm consists of several bioregions: the Euro-Si ...
.
* ''A. a. egretta'' Gmelin, JF, 1789 – found in the Americas
* ''A. a. melanorhynchos'' Wagler, 1827 – found in Africa
Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent, after Asia in both cases. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of Earth's total surface area ...
* '' A. a. modesta'' Gray, JE, 1831 – eastern great egret, found in India
India, officially the Republic of India ( Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the ...
, Southeast Asia
Southeast Asia, also spelled South East Asia and South-East Asia, and also known as Southeastern Asia, South-eastern Asia or SEA, is the geographical United Nations geoscheme for Asia#South-eastern Asia, south-eastern region of Asia, consistin ...
, East Asia
East Asia is the eastern region of Asia, which is defined in both geographical and ethno-cultural terms. The modern states of East Asia include China, Japan, Mongolia, North Korea, South Korea, and Taiwan. China, North Korea, South Korea ...
and Oceania
Oceania (, , ) is a region, geographical region that includes Australasia, Melanesia, Micronesia, and Polynesia. Spanning the Eastern Hemisphere, Eastern and Western Hemisphere, Western hemispheres, Oceania is estimated to have a land area of ...
Description
The great egret is a large heron with all-white plumage. Standing up to tall, this species can measure in length with a wingspan
The wingspan (or just span) of a bird or an airplane is the distance from one wingtip to the other wingtip. For example, the Boeing 777–200 has a wingspan of , and a wandering albatross (''Diomedea exulans'') caught in 1965 had a wingspan ...
of .[ Body mass can range from , with an average around .][ It is thus only slightly smaller than the great blue or grey heron (''A. cinerea''). Apart from size, the great egret can be distinguished from other white egrets by its yellow bill and black legs and feet, though the bill may become darker and the lower legs lighter in the breeding season. In breeding plumage, delicate ornamental feathers are borne on the back. Males and females are identical in appearance; juveniles look like nonbreeding adults. Differentiated from the intermediate egret (''Ardea intermedia'') by the gape, which extends well beyond the back of the eye in case of the great egret, but ends just behind the eye in case of the intermediate egret.
It's flight is slow with its neck retracted. This is characteristic of herons and bitterns, and distinguishes them from storks, ]crane
Crane or cranes may refer to:
Common meanings
* Crane (bird), a large, long-necked bird
* Crane (machine), industrial machinery for lifting
** Crane (rail), a crane suited for use on railroads
People and fictional characters
* Crane (surname) ...
s, ibises, and spoonbills, which extend their necks in flight. The great egret walks with its neck extended and wings held close. The great egret is not normally a vocal bird; it gives a low, hoarse croak when disturbed, and at breeding colonies, it often gives a loud croaking ''cuk cuk cuk'' and higher-pitched squawks.[
Owing to its wide distribution across so much of the Americas, as well as Africa, Europe and Asia, the great egret shares its habitat with many other similar species. For example, the little egret (''Egretta garzetta''), intermediate egret (''Ardea intermedia''), Chinese egret (''Egretta eulophotes''), and the western reef heron (''Egretta gularis''). In the Americas, the snowy egret (''Egretta thula'')—a medium-sized heron that shares the same habitat as the great egret—is one such species. The snowy egret is readily distinguished from the great egret because it is noticeably smaller, and it has a more slender bill which is black in color and yellow feet, whereas the great egret has a yellow bill and black feet. Another species that—in North America—is easily confused with the great egret is the white morph of the ]great blue heron
The great blue heron (''Ardea herodias'') is a large wading bird in the heron family Ardeidae, common near the shores of open water and in wetlands over most of North America and Central America, as well as the Caribbean and the Galápagos ...
(''Ardea herodias''). The great blue heron is a bit larger, and has a thicker bill than that of the great egret.
Distribution and habitat
The great egret is generally a very successful species with a large and expanding range, occurring worldwide in temperate and tropical habitats. It is ubiquitous across the Sun Belt of the United States and in the Neotropics
The Neotropical realm is one of the eight biogeographic realms constituting Earth's land surface. Physically, it includes the tropical terrestrial ecoregions of the Americas and the entire South American temperate zone.
Definition
In bi ...
.
Conservation
In North America, large numbers of great egrets were killed around the end of the 19th century so that their plumes, known as "aigrette
The term aigrette (; from the French for egret, or ''lesser white heron'') refers to the tufted crest or head-plumes of the egret, used for adorning a headdress. The word may also identify any similar ornament, in gems.
History and description
...
s", could be used to decorate hats. Numbers have since recovered as a result of conservation measures. Its range has expanded as far north as southern Canada
Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tota ...
. However, in some parts of the southern United States
The Southern United States (sometimes Dixie, also referred to as the Southern States, the American South, the Southland, or simply the South) is a geographic and cultural region of the United States of America. It is between the Atlantic Ocean ...
, its numbers have declined due to habitat loss, particularly wetland degradation through drainage, grazing, clearing, burning, increased salinity, groundwater extraction and invasion by exotic plants. Nevertheless, the species adapts well to human habitation and can be readily seen near wetlands and bodies of water in urban and suburban areas.
The great egret is partially migratory, with northern hemisphere birds moving south from areas with colder winters. It is one of the species to which the (AEWA) applies.
In 1953, the great egret in flight was chosen as the symbol of the National Audubon Society, which was formed in part to prevent the killing of birds for their feathers.[
On 22 May 2012, a pair of great egrets was observed nesting in the UK for the first time at the Shapwick Heath nature reserve in Somerset.][ The species was a rare visitor to the UK and Ben Aviss of the BBC stated that the news could mean the UK's first great egret colony had become established.][ The following week, Kevin Anderson of Natural England confirmed a great egret chick had hatched, making it a new breeding bird record for the UK.][ In 2017, seven nests in Somerset fledged 17 young,] and a second breeding site was announced at Holkham National Nature Reserve in Norfolk where a pair fledged three young. In January 2021, ''Bird Guides'', a UK website and magazine which reports sightings of rare birds, dropped the species from its list of nationally rare birds because sightings had become so numerous.
A similar move northwards has been observed in the Nordic countries where historically it was only a rare visitor. The first confirmed breeding in Sweden was 2012 and in Denmark was 2014. Both countries now have small colonies. In 2018, a pair of great egrets nested in Finland for the first time, raising four young in a grey heron colony in Porvoo.
Ecology
The species breeds in colonies
In modern parlance, a colony is a territory subject to a form of foreign rule. Though dominated by the foreign colonizers, colonies remain separate from the administration of the original country of the colonizers, the '' metropolitan state' ...
in trees close to large lakes with reed beds or other extensive wetland
A wetland is a distinct ecosystem that is flooded or saturated by water, either permanently (for years or decades) or seasonally (for weeks or months). Flooding results in oxygen-free (anoxic) processes prevailing, especially in the soils. The ...
s, preferably at height of . It begins to breed at 2–3 years of age by forming monogamous pairs each season. Whether the pairing carries over to the next season is not known. The male selects the nest area, starts a nest, and then attracts a female. The nest, made of sticks and lined with plant material, could be up to 3 feet across. Up to six bluish green eggs are laid at one time. Both sexes incubate the eggs, and the incubation period is 23–26 days. The young are fed by regurgitation by both parents and are able to fly within 6–7 weeks.
Diet
The great egret forages in shallow water or in drier habitats, feeding mainly on fish, frogs, other amphibians, small mammals (such as mice), and occasionally small reptiles (such as snakes), crustaceans (such as crayfish) and insects (such as crickets and grasshoppers). This species normally impales its prey with its long, sharp bill by standing still and allowing the prey to come within the striking distance of its bill, which it uses as a spear. It often waits motionless for prey or slowly stalks its victim.
Parasites
A long-running field study (1962–2013) suggested that the great egrets of central Europe host 17 different helminth
Parasitic worms, also known as helminths, are large macroparasites
Parasitism is a close relationship between species, where one organism, the parasite, lives on or inside another organism, the host, causing it some harm, and is adap ...
species. Juvenile great egrets were shown to host fewer species, but the intensity of infection was higher in the juveniles than in the adults. Of the digeneans found in central European great egrets, numerous species likely infected their definitive hosts outside of central Europe itself.
In culture
The great egret is depicted on the reverse side of a 5- Brazilian reais banknote.
The great egret is the symbol of the National Audubon Society.[
An airbrushed photograph of a great egret in breeding plumage by Werner Krutein is featured in the cover art of the 1992 Faith No More album '']Angel Dust
Angel dust may refer to:
Common uses
* A common name for the drug phencyclidine (PCP)
* Angel dusting, a misleading marketing practice
Comics and videos
* Angel Dust (comics), a fictional mutant
* ''Angel Dust'', a manga by Kouta Hirano
* '' ...
''.
In Belarus
Belarus,, , ; alternatively and formerly known as Byelorussia (from Russian ). officially the Republic of Belarus,; rus, Республика Беларусь, Respublika Belarus. is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe. It is bordered by ...
, a commemorative coin has the image of a great egret. The great egret also features on the New Zealand $2 coin and on the Hungarian 5-forint coin.
Gallery
File:Great Egret during mating season at Smith Oaks Sanctuary, High Island.jpg, Great egret during mating season at High Island
File:Great Egret Fish.jpg, Adult in nonbreeding plumage
File:Ardea alba-ibaraki-2016624.webm, (video) An individual of '' A. a. modesta'' flying off in Ibaraki, Japan
File:Ardea alba-head.jpg, Bright green facial skin during breeding season
File:Ardea alba -chicks and nest -Morro Bay Heron Rookery -8.jpg, Parent on nest with chicks
File:Great Egret - Centennial Lakes Park, Edina, Minnesota.jpg, Great egret at Centennial Lakes Park
Centennial Lakes Park is a park and man-made pond located in the southeast portion of Edina, Minnesota, United States. The park features more than of paved pathways meandering around a lake and interspersed with landscaped grounds, formal an ...
in Edina, Minnesota
File:Guide leaflet (1901) (14579611617).jpg, Stuffed specimens at the American Museum of Natural History
File:Great egret in GWC (43539).jpg, Plunging its head into the water to hunt inside Green-Wood Cemetery in Brooklyn
Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York. Kings County is the most populous Administrative divisions of New York (state)#County, county in the State of New York, ...
File:Silberreiher 01 CH.jpg, Adult at Piraqueaçu River
The Piraquê Açu River is a river of Espírito Santo state in eastern Brazil.
Part of the river basin is contained in the Augusto Ruschi Biological Reserve, a fully protected area.
See also
*List of rivers of Espírito Santo
List of rivers i ...
in Santa Cruz in Brazil
File:Great Egret with fish lake Coatepeque.jpg, Adult in flight over Lake Coatepeque, El Salvador
File:Male Great Egret (ardea alba) 2.jpg, Adult male ''A. a. modesta in the Tamar River Conservation Area
File:Большая белая цапля на Верхнем Знаменском пруду.jpg, Great egret in Bitsa Park
Bitsevski Park (russian: Битцевский парк), or Bitsa Park, is one of the largest natural parks (forests) in Moscow, Russia. The park, traversed by the Chertanovka River and the Bitsa River, sprawls for some 10 km from north to s ...
, Moscow, Russia
File:Great egret preening in a tree (84368).jpg, Preening in New York City
File:Egrets Cormorants Trees Kabini Apr22 D72 23589.jpg, Sharing a perch with great cormorants (Phalacrocorax carbo), Kabini
The Kabini River is one of the major tributaries of the river Cauvery in southern India. It originates near Kavilumpara in Kozhikode district of Kerala state by the confluence of the Panamaram River and the Mananthavady River. It flows eastw ...
, India
India, officially the Republic of India ( Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the ...
See also
* Little egret
* Intermediate egret
References
External links
*
Ageing and sexing (PDF) by Javier Blasco-Zumeta & Gerd-Michael Heinze
Great White Heron
– '' The Atlas of Southern African Birds''
Great White Egret
– National Park Neusiedlersee Seewinkel in Austria
Great Egret
– Cornell Lab of Ornithology
– USGS Patuxent Bird Identification InfoCenter
*
*
*
*
{{Authority control
great egret
great egret
Birds of Africa
Birds of the Americas
Birds of the Dominican Republic
Birds of Eurasia
Birds of Japan
Fauna of the San Francisco Bay Area
great egret
Taxa named by Carl Linnaeus
Cosmopolitan birds