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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
The great egret is a large heron with all-white plumage. Standing up to tall, this species can measure in length with a wingspan of . Body mass can range from , with an average around . It is thus only slightly smaller than the great blue heron, great blue or grey heron (''A. cinerea''). Apart from size, the great egret can be distinguished from other white egrets by its yellow beak, 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 (bird), cranes, 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 Polymorphism (biology), morph of the great blue heron (''Ardea herodias''). The great blue heron is a bit larger, and has a thicker bill than that of the great egret.
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 Neotropical realm, Neotropics.
The species breeds in Bird colony, colonies in trees close to large lakes with reed beds or other extensive wetlands, 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.
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.
File:Great Egret during mating season at Smith Oaks Sanctuary, High Island.jpg, Great egret during mating season at High Island, Texas, High Island
File:Great Egret Fish.jpg, Adult in nonbreeding plumage
File:Ardea alba-ibaraki-2016624.webm, (video) An individual of ''Eastern great egret, A. a. modesta'' flying off in Ibaraki Prefecture, 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 (Minnesota), Centennial Lakes Park 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
File:Silberreiher 01 CH.jpg, Adult at Piraqueaçu River 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, 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 River, Kabini, India
Ageing and sexing (PDF) by Javier Blasco-Zumeta & Gerd-Michael Heinze
Great White Heron
– ''Southern African Bird Atlas Project, 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 Ardea (genus), great egret Herons, 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 Birds described in 1758, great egret Taxa named by Carl Linnaeus Cosmopolitan birds
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 build ...
. 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 ...
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 heronfamily
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
The herons are long-legged, long-necked, freshwater and coastal birds in the family Ardeidae, with 72 recognised species, some of which are referred to as egrets or bitterns rather than herons. Members of the genera ''Botaurus'' and ''Ixobrychu ...
. Traditionally classified with the storks in the Ciconiiformes
Storks are large, long-legged, long-necked wading birds with long, stout bills. They belong to the family called Ciconiidae, and make up the order Ciconiiformes . Ciconiiformes previously included a number of other families, such as herons a ...
, the Ardeidae are closer relatives of pelicans and belong in the Pelecaniformes
The Pelecaniformes are an order of medium-sized and large waterbirds found worldwide. As traditionally—but erroneously—defined, they encompass all birds that have feet with all four toes webbed. Hence, they were formerly also known by such n ...
, instead. The great egret—unlike the typical egrets—does not belong to the genus ''Egretta'', but together with the great herons is today placed in ''Ardea (genus), Ardea''. In the past, however, it was sometimes placed in ''Egretta'' or separated in a monotypic 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 Polymorphism (biology), morph of the closely related great blue heron.
The scientific name comes from Latin ''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 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'' Carl Linnaeus, Linnaeus, 1758 – Nominate subspecies#Nominotypical subspecies and subspecies autonyms, nominate, found in Europe and across the Palearctic. * ''A. a. egretta'' Johann Friedrich Gmelin, Gmelin, JF, 1789 – found in the Americas * ''A. a. melanorhynchos'' Wagler, 1827 – found in Africa * ''Ardea alba modesta, A. a. modesta'' Gray, JE, 1831 – eastern great egret, found in India, Southeast Asia, East Asia and OceaniaDescription
The great egret is a large heron with all-white plumage. Standing up to tall, this species can measure in length with a wingspan of . Body mass can range from , with an average around . It is thus only slightly smaller than the great blue heron, great blue or grey heron (''A. cinerea''). Apart from size, the great egret can be distinguished from other white egrets by its yellow beak, 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 (bird), cranes, 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 Polymorphism (biology), morph of the great blue heron (''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 Neotropical realm, Neotropics.
Conservation
In North America, large numbers of great egrets were killed around the end of the 19th century so that their plumes, known as "aigrettes", 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. However, in some parts of the southern United States, 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 bird migration, migratory, with northern hemisphere birds moving south from areas with colder winters. It is one of the species to which the Agreement on the Conservation of African-Eurasian Migratory Waterbirds (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 Bird colony, colonies in trees close to large lakes with reed beds or other extensive wetlands, 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 Parasitic worm, helminth 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 Obverse and reverse, reverse side of a 5-Brazilian real, 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 (Faith No More album), Angel Dust''. In Belarus, 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
See also
* Little egret * Intermediate egretReferences
External links
*Ageing and sexing (PDF) by Javier Blasco-Zumeta & Gerd-Michael Heinze
Great White Heron
– ''Southern African Bird Atlas Project, 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 Ardea (genus), great egret Herons, 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 Birds described in 1758, great egret Taxa named by Carl Linnaeus Cosmopolitan birds