Great Egrets are the tallest of all white egrets. Their
plumage is
all-white, with long scapularplumes 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.
We first spotted a Great [White] Egret, race "alba", in Oman near
a number of water puddles in an otherwise dry riverbed (wadi)
in Qurm, near Muscat, Oman, in December 2009.
Race "modesta"
We have found Great Egrets, race "modesta", in
Australia.
Photos
Race "alba"
ADULT
Sex unknown
NON-BREEDING
Distant frontal view of a Great [White] Egret (back left) and a
Little Egret
(front right)
[Qurm, December 2009]
Lateral view of a Great [White] Egret in non-breeding
plumage
(photo courtesy of S. Kirkby)
Race "modesta"
Photos of race "modesta"
were obtained in Australia.
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.
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.