Species guide
Great Egret: how to recognise it
A bird seen on most continents. Learn the marks that make it easy to identify, then practise with real photographs in Lore.
Practise with real photosAll species guides
Photo © daverowe · CC BY-NC · iNaturalist · all photo credits
- Scientific name
- Ardea alba
- Family
- Herons, Egrets, and Bitterns
- Size
- About 80–104 cm
- Habitat
- Lakes, marshes, rivers and coasts
- Found in
- Europe, Africa, Asia, North America, South America and Oceania
The key marks
A tall, all-white heron with a long S-curved neck, a yellow bill and black legs and feet.
Voice
A low, croaking “kraak”.
Good to know
In breeding plumage it grows long, lacy back plumes, which led to heavy hunting for hat feathers over a century ago.
Where and when
You can expect to find it in lakes, marshes, rivers and coasts. It is especially common in Florida, Texas, Mexico and Brazil. Distribution changes with the seasons and from year to year, so check a recent local observation source before you go looking.