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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 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.

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.

Great Egrets, nominate race "alba", are found all year round from northern Italy, along the Adriatic coastline via Greece into the south-western half of Turkey. In the breeding season they expand their range deep into mid-latitude central Asia. Part of the population winters in France, others along the northern African coastline, others from Kurdistan via Iraq and Iran into Pakistan and northern India. Part of this population also makes it to the northern tip of the Arabian peninsula and the northern coastline of Oman.

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.

Race "alba"

Race "modesta"