Great egret

{{Short description|Species of bird}} {{Expand language|topic=|langcode=Ka|otherarticle=დიდი ოყარი|date=May 2026}} {{For-multi|the short story by Sarah Orne Jewett|A White Heron|the eastern populations of this species|eastern great egret}} {{Distinguish|text=the all-white population of the great blue heron}} {{Speciesbox | image = Great Egret (Ardea alba) in Breeding Plumage, Cape May County, New Jersey, USA (cropped).png | image_caption = Great egret in full breeding plumage | image2 = GreatEgretNonbreeding.jpg | image2_caption = Non-breeding plumage {{plainlist | *centre| *Great Egret call in Somme, France}} | status = LC | status_system = IUCN3.1 | status_ref = <ref name=iucn>{{cite iucn |title=''Ardea alba'' |author=BirdLife International |date=2025 |article-number=e.T22697043A280949218 |doi= |access-date=22 October 2025}}</ref> | genus = Ardea | species = alba | authority = Linnaeus, 1758 | synonyms = *''Herodias egretta'' Boie, 1822 *''Casmerodius egretta'' Gloger, 1842 *''Casmerodius albus'' Oberholser, 1919 *''Egretta alba'' (Cramp and Simmons, 1977) | range_map = ArdeaAlbaIUCNver2019 1.png | range_map_alt = Map showing the range of ''Ardea alba''. | range_map_caption = {{leftlegend|#00FF00|Breeding|outline=gray}} {{leftlegend|#008000|Resident|outline=gray}} {{leftlegend|#007FFF|Non-breeding|outline=gray}} {{leftlegend|#00FFFF|Passage|outline=gray}} {{leftlegend|#FF00FF|Vagrant (seasonality uncertain)|outline=blue}} }}

The '''great egret''' ('''''Ardea alba'''''), also known as the '''common egret''', '''large egret''', '''great white egret''',<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.rspb.org.uk/birds-and-wildlife/wildlife-guides/bird-a-z/great-white-egret/|title=Great White Egret Facts | Ardea alba|website=The RSPB}}</ref> or '''great white heron''',<ref name=Bewick1809/><ref name=Bruun1970/><ref name=Ali1993/> is a large, widely distributed egret. The four subspecies are found in Asia, Africa, the Americas, and southern Europe. Recently, it has also been spreading to more northern areas of Europe. Distributed across most of the tropical and warmer temperate regions of the world, it builds tree nests in colonies close to water.

==Taxonomy== The great egret was formally described in 1758 by the Swedish naturalist Carl Linnaeus in the tenth edition of his ''Systema Naturae'' under the binomial name ''Ardea alba''. He specified the type locality as Europe.<ref>{{cite book | last=Linnaeus | first=Carl | author-link=Carl Linnaeus | year=1758 | title= Systema Naturae per regna tria naturae, secundum classes, ordines, genera, species, cum characteribus, differentiis, synonymis, locis | volume=1 | edition=10th | page=144 | publisher=Laurentii Salvii | location=Holmiae (Stockholm) | language=Latin | url=https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/page/727051 }}</ref><ref>{{ cite book | editor1-last=Mayr | editor1-first=Ernst | editor1-link=Ernst Mayr | editor2-last=Cottrell | editor2-first=G. William | year=1979 | title=Check-List of Birds of the World | volume=1 | edition=2nd | publisher=Museum of Comparative Zoology | location=Cambridge, Massachusetts | page=203 | url=https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/page/16108843 }}</ref> The scientific name comes from Latin {{Lang|la|ardea}}, "heron", and {{Lang|la|alba}}, "white".<ref name=job>{{cite book | last= Jobling | first= James A | year= 2010| title= The Helm Dictionary of Scientific Bird Names | url= https://archive.org/details/Helm_Dictionary_of_Scientific_Bird_Names_by_James_A._Jobling | publisher=Christopher Helm | location = London | isbn = 978-1-4081-2501-4 | pages=37, 54 }}</ref>

Like all egrets, it is a member of the heron family, 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 ''Egretta'', 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 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.

===Subspecies=== Four subspecies are found in various parts of the world, which differ but little.<ref name=ioc>{{cite web| editor1-last=Gill | editor1-first=Frank | editor1-link=Frank Gill (ornithologist) | editor2-last=Donsker | editor2-first=David | editor3-last=Rasmussen | editor3-first=Pamela | editor3-link=Pamela C. Rasmussen | date=December 2023 | title=Ibis, spoonbills, herons, Hamerkop, Shoebill, pelicans | work=IOC World Bird List Version 14.1 | url=https://www.worldbirdnames.org/bow/pelicans/ | publisher=International Ornithologists' Union | access-date=9 February 2024 }}</ref> 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.<ref name=ioc/>

* ''A. a. alba'' Linnaeus, 1758 – nominate, found in Europe and across the Palearctic. * ''A. a. egretta'' Gmelin, JF, 1789 – found in the Americas * ''A. a. melanorhynchos'' Wagler, 1827 – found in Africa * ''A. a. modesta'' Gray, JE, 1831 – eastern great egret, found in India, Southeast Asia, East Asia and Oceania

==Description== thumb|Adult great egret in flight thumb|Breeding plumage The great egret is a large heron with all-white plumage. Standing up to {{cvt|1|m}} tall, this species can measure {{cvt|80|to|104|cm}} in length with a wingspan of {{cvt|131|to|170|cm}}.<ref name=AAB/><ref name=seaworld/> Body mass can range from {{cvt|700|to|1500|g}}, with an average around {{cvt|1000|g}}.<ref name=CRC/> 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.

Its flight is slow with its neck retracted. This is characteristic of herons and bitterns, and distinguishes them from storks, 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.<ref name=audubon3/> [[File:012 Great egret fishing during a foggy day at Champ-Pittet Photo by Giles Laurent.jpg|alt=Great egret fishing during a foggy day at Champ-Pittet, Switzerland|thumb|Great egret fishing during a foggy day at Champ-Pittet, Switzerland]] [[File:Water Birds Sunning Log Kabini Reservoir Karnataka Dec21 D72 21581.jpg|thumb|Sharing space on a log with a grey heron (''Ardea cinerea''), Oriental darter (''Anhinga melanogaster'') and a group of little cormorants (''Microcarbo niger'')]] 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 (''Ardea herodias''). The great blue heron is a bit larger, and has a thicker bill than that of the great egret.<ref name=CornellLab>{{cite web |title=Similar Species for Great Egret |work=All About Birds |publisher=Cornell Lab of Ornithology |location=Ithaca, New York |year=2021 |url=https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Great_Egret/species-compare/70611051 |access-date=19 March 2021}}</ref>

==Distribution and habitat== [[File:Crocodile Front Egret Kabini Nagarhole Apr22 D72 23712.jpg|thumb|Non-breeding adult wading near a mugger crocodile]] 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.<ref name=iucn/>

In the Nordic countries, it was historically a rare visitor. The first breeding was observed in Sweden in 2012 and in Denmark in 2014.<ref>{{cite web| title=Første danske koloni af den sjældne sølvhejre opdaget |url=https://www.dof.dk/om-dof/nyheder?nyhed_id=1561 |date=2017 |publisher=Dansk Ornitologisk Forening | access-date=29 June 2022 }}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last=Aronsson |first=N. |year=2019 |title=Snabb framryckning av flera arter i landet |journal=Vår Fågelvärld |volume=6}}</ref> In 2018, a pair of great egrets nested in Finland for the first time, raising four young in a grey heron colony in Porvoo.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://yle.fi/uutiset/3-10340697 |title=Jalohaikara pesi ensimmäistä kertaa Suomessa – Porvoossa haudotut poikaset lennähtivät maailmalle |work=Yle Uutiset |date=2018 |language=fi |access-date=2018-08-11}}</ref> ===Presence in Great Britain=== 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.<ref name=Aviss/> 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.<ref name=Aviss/><ref name=Aviss2/> 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.<ref name=Hallett/> In 2017, seven nests in Somerset fledged 17 young,<ref name = BB2017>{{cite journal |author=Pitches, A. |year=2017 |title=England's Mediterranean Breeding Season |journal=British Birds |volume=110 |issue=9 |page=430}}</ref> and a second breeding site was announced at Holkham National Nature Reserve in Norfolk where a pair fledged three young.<ref name = RBA>{{cite web |url=http://www.rarebirdalert.co.uk/v2/content/Great-White-Egret-breeds-successfully-in-Norfolk-for-the-first-time.aspx?s_id=448502668 |title=Great White Egret breeds successfully in Norfolk for the first time |access-date=15 September 2017 |publisher=Rare Bird Alert}}</ref> In August 2024, RSPB Scotland announced that a pair had raised three chicks at their Loch of Strathbeg nature reserve in North Aberdeenshire, the first chicks to hatch in Scotland.<ref>{{cite magazine |url=https://www.scottishfield.co.uk/news/great-white-egrets-successfully-fledge-in-scotland-for-the-first-time/ |title=Great White Egrets successfully fledge in Scotland for the first time |first=Ellie |last=Forbes |date=22 August 2024 |magazine=Scottish Field |access-date=22 August 2024}}</ref>

==Behaviour and ecology== [[File:Egretta alba MWNH 0917.JPG|thumb|Egg in the collection of Museum Wiesbaden]]

The great egret breeds in colonies in trees close to large lakes with reed beds or other extensive wetlands, preferably at height of {{cvt|10|-|40|ft|m|order=flip}}.<ref name="audubon3">{{Cite web|url=http://www.audubon.org/field-guide/bird/great-egret |title=Great Egret|date=July 10, 2016|website=Audubon Guide to North American Birds}}</ref> 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.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Great Egret |work=All about birds, Cornell Lab of Ornithology |publisher=Cornell Lab of Ornithology |url=https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/great_egret/lifehistory|access-date=July 10, 2016}}</ref>

===Diet=== thumb|Spearing a fish [[File:Brace for water landing, gear extended.jpg |thumb|Landing in Matadero Creek]] The great egret forages in shallow water or in drier habitats, feeding mainly on fish, frogs, other amphibians,<ref name = T&T>{{cite web |url=https://sta.uwi.edu/fst/lifesciences/sites/default/files/lifesciences/images/Ardea%20alba%20-%20Great%20Egret.pdf |title=''Ardea alba'' (Great Egret_ |access-date = 6 August 2022 |work=The Online Guide to the Animals of Trinidad and Tobago | publisher = University of the West Indies}}</ref> mice, snakes, crayfish, aquatic insects, grasshoppers, and other insects<ref>{{cite web |url=https://animaldiversity.org/accounts/Ardea_alba/ |title=Ardea alba: great egret |website=Animal Diversity Web |first=J. |last=Jones |date=2002 |publisher=University of Michigan |access-date=14 January 2022}}</ref>

===Parasites=== A long-running field study (1962–2013) suggested that the great egrets of central Europe host 17 different 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.<ref name="Sitko & Heneberg 2015"/>

== Threats == 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.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Souder|first=William|title=How Two Women Ended the Deadly Feather Trade |url=https://www.smithsonianmag.com/science-nature/how-two-women-ended-the-deadly-feather-trade-23187277/|access-date=2021-01-08 |website=Smithsonian Magazine}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.collinsdictionary.com/dictionary/english/aigrette |title=Aigrette definition and meaning | Collins English Dictionary|website=www.collinsdictionary.com}}</ref> 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.<ref name=iucn/>

==In culture== [[File:Guide leaflet (1901) (14579611617).jpg|thumb|Taxidermied specimens, American Museum of Natural History]] thumb|Great egret capturing and swallowing a fish (partially slowed video) [[File:Great Egret in Yolo bypass wildlife area.webm|thumb|thumbtime=7|A great egret in the Yolo Bypass Wildlife Area]] The great egret is depicted on the reverse side of a 5-Brazilian real banknote.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Current Banknotes - Banco Central do Brasil|url=https://www.bcb.gov.br/en/legacy?url=https://www.bcb.gov.br/ingles/Mecir/cedulas/cedcomum.asp?idioma=I |access-date=2021-06-07 |website=www.bcb.gov.br}}</ref>

The great egret is the symbol of the National Audubon Society.<ref name=nationalgeographic/>

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''.<ref>{{cite magazine |last=Putterford |first=Mark |date=December 1992 |title=Faith No More - Dusted |magazine=Rip}}</ref>

In Belarus, a commemorative coin has the image of a great egret.<ref>{{Cite web|title=1 Rouble, Belarus |url=https://en.numista.com/catalogue/pieces31221.html|access-date=2021-06-07 |work=en.numista.com |language=en}}</ref> The great egret also features on the New Zealand $2 coin and on the Hungarian 5-forint coin.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://en.numista.com/catalogue/pieces28729.html |title=5 Forint |publisher=Numista |access-date=17 May 2020}}</ref>

==See also== * Little egret * Intermediate egret

==References== {{Reflist|32em|refs= <ref name=AAB>{{Cite AllAboutBirds|Great Egret|access-date=25 September 2013}}</ref>

<ref name=Ali1993>{{cite book |last=Ali |first=S. |year=1993 |title=The Book of Indian Birds |publisher=Bombay Natural History Society |location=Bombay |isbn=0-19-563731-3 |url=https://archive.org/details/BookOfIndianBirds}}</ref>

<ref name=Aviss>{{cite news |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/nature/18118985 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20130419180918/http://www.bbc.co.uk/nature/18118985 |archive-date=April 19, 2013 |title=Great white egrets nest in UK for first time |last=Aviss |first=Ben |date=22 May 2012 |work=BBC Nature |publisher=BBC |access-date=31 May 2012}}</ref>

<ref name=Aviss2>{{cite news |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/nature/18280491 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20120719164146/http://www.bbc.co.uk/nature/18280491 |archive-date=July 19, 2012 |title=Great white egrets breed in UK for first time |last=Aviss |first=Ben |date=31 May 2012 |work=BBC Nature |publisher=BBC |access-date=31 May 2012}}</ref>

<ref name=Bewick1809>{{cite book |last=Bewick |first=Thomas |author-link=Thomas Bewick |series=A History of British Birds |title=Part II, Containing the History and Description of Water Birds |location=Newcastle |publisher=Edward Walker |year=1809 |page=52 |url=https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/item/82314#page/386/mode/1up |chapter=The Great White Heron (''Ardea alba'', Lin. – Le Heron blanc, Buff.)}}</ref>

<ref name=Bruun1970>{{cite book |last1=Bruun |first1=B. |last2=Delin |first2=H. |last3=Svenson |first3=L. |year=1970 |title=The Hamlyn Guide to Birds to Britain and Europe |location=London |publisher=Bounty Books |page=36 |isbn=0-7537-0956-2}}</ref>

<ref name=CRC>{{cite book |title=CRC Handbook of Avian Body Masses |editor-first=John B. |editor-last=Dunning Jr. |publisher=CRC Press |year=1992 |isbn=978-0-8493-4258-5}}</ref>

<ref name=Hallett>{{cite news |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/environment/nature/rare-great-white-egret-chick-hatches-in-uk-for-first-time-7807682.html |title=Rare great white egret chick hatches in UK for first time |last=Hallett |first=Emma |date=31 May 2012 |work=The Independent |publisher=Independent Print Limited |access-date=31 May 2012}}</ref>

<ref name=nationalgeographic>{{cite web |url=http://animals.nationalgeographic.com/animals/birds/great-egret/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100129001528/http://animals.nationalgeographic.com/animals/birds/great%2Degret/ |archive-date=January 29, 2010 |title=Great Egret (Ardea alba) |date=10 June 2011 |publisher=National Geographic Society |access-date=31 May 2012}}</ref>

<ref name=seaworld>{{cite web |url=http://www.seaworld.org/animal-info/animal-bytes/animalia/eumetazoa/coelomates/deuterostomes/chordata/craniata/aves/ciconiiformes/egrets.htm |title=Animal Bytes – Egrets |website=Seaworld |access-date=25 September 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130621105117/http://www.seaworld.org/animal-info/animal-bytes/animalia/eumetazoa/coelomates/deuterostomes/chordata/craniata/aves/ciconiiformes/egrets.htm |archive-date=21 June 2013 }}</ref>

<ref name="Sitko & Heneberg 2015">{{Cite journal |last1=Sitko |first1=J. |last2=Heneberg |first2=P. |year=2015 |title=Composition, structure and pattern of helminth assemblages associated with central European herons (Ardeidae) |journal=Parasitology International |volume=64 |issue=1 |pages=100–112 |doi=10.1016/j.parint.2014.10.009 |pmid=25449288}}</ref> }}

==External links== {{Commons category|Ardea alba}} * {{inaturalist taxon|144455}} * [https://web.archive.org/web/20141202060534/http://aulaenred.ibercaja.es/wp-content/uploads/42_GreatEgretEalba.pdf Ageing and sexing (PDF) by Javier Blasco-Zumeta & Gerd-Michael Heinze] * [https://sabap2.birdmap.africa/docs/sabap1/066.pdf Great White Heron] – ''The Atlas of Southern African Birds'' * [https://eberhard.at/html/great_egret.html Great White Egret] – National Park Neusiedlersee Seewinkel in Austria * [https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Great_Egret/ Great Egret] – Cornell Lab of Ornithology * [https://www.mbr-pwrc.usgs.gov/id/framlst/i1960id.html Great egret ''Ardea alba''] – USGS Patuxent Bird Identification InfoCenter * {{field guide birds of the world|Ardea alba}} * {{Avibase|name=Ardea alba}} * {{InternetBirdCollection|great-white-egret-egretta-alba|Great White Egret}} * {{VIREO|great+egret|Great Egret}}

great egret great egret Category:Birds of Africa Category:Birds of the Americas Category:Birds of Eurasia great egret Category:Animal taxa named by Carl Linnaeus Category:Cosmopolitan birds Category:Least concern biota of the United States Category:Birds of the United States