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Great [White] Egret (Ardea alba) Alternate name(s): "Egret*", "Common Egret", "Large Egret", "White Egret", "White Crane*", "Great White Heron*" German name(s): "Silberreiher" Size: 0.85-1.05 m; wing span 1.45-1.70 m Body mass: 0.92-1.0 kg Wing loading [g/cm2]: 0.26

Europe: Family Group 5 Family Group 5 Table Great Egret Little Egret Western Cattle Egret Grey Heron Purple Heron Striated Heron Black-crowned Night Heron Squacco Heron Green Heron Eurasian Bittern Little Bittern Eurasian Spoonbill Glossy Ibis White Stork Black Stork Greater Flamingo Thumbnails page Family group table Index of bird names German birds home page

Similar species

Description     Classification     Distribution     Sightings     Photos     Breeding     Nest     Eggs     Behaviour     Food     Call/s

Physical description Click here for a physical description Great Egrets are the tallest of all white egrets. Their plumage is all-white, with long scapular plumes during the breeding season that are absent in eclipse. The long, straight bill, which is yellow in eclipse, turns darker, with a turquoise base, in the breeding breeding season. The long legs are dark-yellow at top and darken to near-black towards the feet. Great Egrets have a particularly pronounced kink in their long necks, which distinguishes them from other species of egrets.

Taxonomy, classification See Great Egret at Wikipedia .

Range, habitat, finding this species Click here for information on habitat and range The overall distribution of this species can be assessed, and specific locations where birds have been spotted can be found, based on individual sighting reports submitted by birdwatchers to ebird.org . The global distribution of the Great (White) Egret is available HERE . There are four races of Great (White) Egrets, which are a global sedentary species. Race "alba" is found in Europe and central Asia, race "melanorynchos" in Africa, race "egretta" in the Americas and race "modesta" in India, South-east Asia, Australia and Oceania. Apart from isolated breeding areas in inland Poland, Great Egrets, nominate race "alba", are found in Europe mostly as winter visitors in northern central Europe (from the Gulf of Biscay to Denmark in the West to Poland and the river Danube in the East). Otherwise they are mostly found around the Mediterranean Sea and the Black Sea, towards the Caspian Sea. Great Egrets are found in the shallows of various kinds of wetlands, including ephemeral wetlands such as flooded grassland, and in estuaries and intertidal wetlands and mudflats.

Sightings Click here for sighting information Race "alba" J. Pires reports finding Great [White] Egrets, nominate race "alba", regularly during the winter months in the area around Mora, Evora, Portugal, in particular along the Sorraia River. D. Wilczynska reports spotting Great [White] Egrets, race "alba", regularly in wetlands in Masovia, Poland. M. Eaton reports finding Great [White] Egrets, race "alba", at Mequinenza, Zaragoza, Aragon, Spain, in September 2019. H. Dahlem-Senger found a Great [White] Egret, race "alba", between Walluf and Eltville, Hessen, Germany, in May 2022. Two Great [White] Egrets, race "alba", were found at Neuharlingersiel, Ostfriesland, Germany, in September 2024. A. Sarok spotted a Great [White] Egret, race "alba", in Vojvodina, Serbia, in the timeframe 2010-2024. We also spotted a Great [White] Egret, race "alba", Oman. Race "modesta" We have found Great Egrets, race "modesta", in Australia.

Photos

Race "alba"

ADULT

Sex unknown

BREEDING

Lateral view of three Great [White] Egrets, one of which in breeding plumage, with a dark bill, while the others are in non-breeding plumage (photo courtesy of D. Wilczynska)
[Near Jelonki, Masovia, Poland, July 2016]

NON-BREEDING

Frontal view of a Great [White] Egret in non-breeding plumage; note the yellow-orange bill
(photo courtesy of J. Pires)
[Raia river, Mora, Evora, Portugal, January 2021]

Lateral view of a Great [White] Egret in non-breeding plumage looking towards the observer (photo courtesy of J. Pires)
[Sorraia River, near Mora, Evora, Portugal, February 2019]

Close-up lateral view of a Great [White] Egret in non-breeding plumage (photo courtesy of J. Pires)
[Sorraia River, Santa Justa, Coruche, Portugal, February 2021]

Lateral view of a Great [White] Egret in non-breeding plumage (photo courtesy of J. Pires)
[Santa Justa, Coruche, Portugal, January 2018]

Lateral view of a Great [White] Egret in non-breeding plumage (photo courtesy of J. Pires)
[Mora, Evora, Portugal, January 2018]

Lateral view of a Great [White] Egret in non-breeding plumage (photo courtesy of J. Pires)
[Sorraia River, near Mora, Evora, Portugal, March 2019]

Lateral view of a Great [White] Egret in non-breeding plumage with, for comparison, a Little Egret
(photos courtesy of A. Sarok)
[Vojvodina, Serbia, date unknown]

Near-dorsal view of a Great [White] Egret in non-breeding plumage (photo courtesy of J. Pires)
[Mora, Evora, Portugal, February 2023]

Near-dorsal view of a Great [White] Egret in non-breeding plumage looking sideways (photos courtesy of A. Sarok)
[Vojvodina, Serbia, date unknown]

Near-dorsal view of a Great [White] Egret in non-breeding plumage (photo courtesy of D. Wilczynska)
[Near Jelonki, Masovia, Poland, August 2016]

Near-dorsal view of a Great [White] Egret in non-breeding plumage (photo courtesy of J. Pires)
[Vila Franca de Xira, Tejo estuary, Portugal, October 2021]

Dorsal view of a Great [White] Egret in non-breeding plumage (photo courtesy of J. Pires)
[Mora, Evora, Portugal, February 2023]

Great [White] Egrets in non-breeding plumage (photo courtesy of J. Pires)
[Montargil, Alentejo, Portugal, October 2013]

Lateral view of a Great [White] Egret in non-breeding plumage in flight (photo courtesy of J. Pires)
[Santa Justa, Coruche, Portugal, January 2018]

Lateral view of a Great [White] Egret in non-breeding plumage in flight (photo courtesy of J. Pires)
[Sorraia River, near Mora, Evora, Portugal, March 2019]

Lateral/ventral view of a Great [White] Egret in non-breeding plumage in flight (photo courtesy of J. Pires)
[Sorraia River, near Mora, Evora, Portugal, March 2019]

Near-dorsal view of a Great [White] Egret in non-breeding plumage in flight (photo courtesy of J. Pires)
[Near Mora, Evora, Portugal, January 2025]

Near-lateral view of Great [White] Egrets in non-breeding plumage in flight (photo courtesy of J. Pires)
[Montargil, Alentejo, Portugal, November 2014]

Lateral view of Great [White] Egrets in non-breeding plumage in flight (photo courtesy of J. Pires)
[Montargil, Alentejo, Portugal, November 2014]

Great [White] Egret in non-breeding plumage in comparison with a Squacco Heron (photo courtesy of J. Pires)
[Santa Justa, Coruche, Portugal, February 2018]

Great [White] Egret in non-breeding plumage in comparison with Great Cormorants (photo courtesy of J. Pires)
[Santa Justa, Coruche, Portugal, November 2018]

Hard times for fish trapped in a stagnant pool of water: Great [White] Egrets, Little Egrets and Grey Herons gathered for an easy meal (photo courtesy of J. Pires)
[Mora, Evora, Portugal, October 2015]

IMMATURE/JUVENILE

Lateral view of an immature Great [White] Egret (photo courtesy of D. Wilczynska)
[River Bug, near Malkinia, Masovia, Poland, July 2019]

Great [White] Egrets, either in non-breeding plumage or (given the season) immature birds, in comparison with Little Egrets (photo courtesy of J. Pires)
[Montargil, Alentejo, Portugal, August 2015]

Race "modesta"

Photos of race "modesta" were obtained in Australia.

Behaviour

Social behaviour: Territorial

Mobility: Partially migratory

Elementary unit: Solitary

Apart from some suitable locations (both coastal and inland) where Great Egrets in Europe are sedentary (including, in particular, the Danube delta), the majority of the population is migratory. Those that spend the winters in southern or central Europe will migrate eastward, into the Danube valley and along the northern coastline of both Black Sea and Caspian Sea for breeding.

Food, Diet

All egrets and herons prey on aquatic creatures in fresh water or estuaries (fish, frogs, snakes or crustaceans). Great [White] Egrets will take any of those.

Reportedly, the last words of this Great [White] Egret's victim were "Oh, rats!"... (photo courtesy of J. Pires)
[Santa Justa, Coruche, Portugal, January 2018]

Call(s)/Song

For this species we have recorded the following call(s)/song. The interpretation of their meaning is our own; comments and suggestions for improvement are welcome.

We will try to replace these recordings with better ones as soon as possible.

gregret_20220509.m4a	(NW NSW)	Suspicious/foraging at break of dawn	© MD
gregret_20190722.m4a	(NW NSW)	Alarm call (human)	© MD
gregret_20170626.m4a	(NW NSW)	? (arrival)	© MD
gregret_20210302.m4a	(NW NSW)	? (in breeding colony)	© MD
gregret_20230222.mp3	(NW NSW)	? (in-flight; + Little Corella)	© MD

More Great (White) Egret sound recordings are available at xeno-canto.org .

These pages are largely based on our own observations and those of our contributors. The structure of these bird pages is explained HERE. For more salient facts on any bird species please refer to a field guide.

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