mdahlem.net WWW

Birds of Oman home   Bird names   News    Family groups 1-26    Tips   Glossary   Plumage   Thumbnails    General information    Credits    PHOTOS FOR SALE
NON-PASSERINES     1    2    3    4    5    6    7    8    9    10     11     12     13     14	15     16     17     18     19     20     21     22     23     24    25    26    PASSERINES
Common names sorted alphabetically: B   C   D   E   F   G   H   I   J   K   L   M   N   O   P   R   S   T   V   W

5

Little Egret (Ardea [Egretta] garzetta) Alternate name(s): "Lesser Egret", "Spotless Egret" Size: 55-65 cm; wingspan: 88-106 cm Weight: 350-550 g

Oman: Family Group 5 Family Group 5 Table Great White Egret Intermediate Egret Cattle Egret Little Egret Western Reef Heron Purple Heron Grey Heron Striated Heron Squacco Heron Indian Pond Heron Black-crowned Night Heron Little Bittern African Sacred Ibis Glossy Ibis Eurasian Spoonbill White Stork Greater Flamingo Lesser Flamingo Thumbnails page Classification table Index of bird names Oman 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 Little Egrets are the medium-sized egrets. Their plumage is all-white in the non-breeding season, with long scapular and frontal plumes during the breeding season. In addition, they grow two long, thin nuchal plumes at the back of their head. Their irises are yellow. The straight bill is black with a yellow base, the legs are black.

Taxonomy, classification See Little Egret at Wikipedia .

Range, habitat 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 Little Egret is available HERE . There are two races of Little Egrets. The western, nominate race "garzetta" populates almost all of Africa to the South of the Sahara desert (with the exceptions of two regions in south-western Africa), the Nile valley, the northern coastline near the Atlas Mountains. Of this range, the southern coast of West Africa and the northern coast are wintering grounds; the rest is populated all year round. Parts of South and South-east Europe, including the Balkans, the western half of Turkey, an area around the Black Sea and another South of the Caspian Sea are summer breeding grounds. Little Egrets are found all year round along the entire Arabian coastline, the coastline of Iran/Iraq and basically all of Pakistan, the Indian subcontinent and South-east Asia. Further North, into southern China, there are additional breeding and wintering grounds. The southern end of this race's range in Asia are the Philippines. Little Egrets, race "nigripes", are found in Indonesia, New Guinea, Australia and (non-breeding) in New Zealand. (Note that the Australian/New Zealand population is sometimes also treated as separate race "immaculata".) In Oman Little Egrets, race "garzetta", inhabit the entire (near-coastal) fringe, except the eatern tip around Ras al-Hadd, where they are not found right on the coastline, but in the hinterland only. Little Egrets are found in the shallows of various kinds of wetlands, including ephemeral wetlands such as flooded grassland, and in intertidal mudflats.

Sightings Click here for sighting information Race "garzetta" A Little Egret, race "garzetta", was first spotted by us on the Campus of Sultan Qaboos University, near Muscat, Oman, in the timeframe September-December 2009. A Little Egret, race "garzetta", in breeding plumage was seen at the same location in early March 2010, but no photo was obtained. A Little Egret, race "garzetta", was also spotted in Europe. Race "nigripes" We have found Little Egrets, race "nigripes" ("immaculata"), in Australia.

Photos

Race "garzetta"

Not the photos you want? Or are you after even better quality? Have a look here.

ADULT

Sex unknown

NON-BREEDING

Lateral view of a Little Egret in non-breeding plumage, with its head up
[Campus of Sultan Qaboos University, near Muscat, December 2009]

Lateral view of a Little Egret, with its neck showing the characteristic "kink"
[Campus of Sultan Qaboos University, near Muscat, December 2009]

Lateral view of a Little Egret "drawing" concentric rings on the water
[Campus of Sultan Qaboos University, near Muscat, December 2009]

In this dorsal view of a Little Egret one can see signs of moulting
[Campus of Sultan Qaboos University, near Muscat, December 2009]

Little Egret stalking prey; prominently visible in this photo is the bird's turquoise-coloured foot
[Campus of Sultan Qaboos University, near Muscat, December 2009]

Dorsal view of a Little Egret in flight
[Campus of Sultan Qaboos University, near Muscat, December 2009]

Race "nigripes"

Photos of Little Egrets, race "nigripes" ("immaculata"), were obtained by us in Australia.

Behaviour

Lateral view of a Little Egret waiting for the coast to clear
[Campus of Sultan Qaboos University, near Muscat, December 2009]

Food, Diet

All egrets and herons prey on aquatic creatures in fresh water or estuaries (fish, frogs, snakes or crustaceans).

Here is what happens when a Little Egret zooms in...
[Campus of Sultan Qaboos University, near Muscat, December 2009]

... next phase...

... the end of the line for an unfortunate frog
[Campus of Sultan Qaboos University, near Muscat, December 2009]

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.

Would you like to contribute photos or sound recordings to this site? If interested, please CLICK HERE. Credits to contributors are given HERE.

Disclaimer: Comments are always welcome. We give no guarantee that the information presented on these pages is always correct or up-to-date. External links are marked as such and we take no responsibility for the contents of external pages. All images on this site are protected by copyright & used by permission of the respective owners. If you wish to reproduce them or any of the material presented on this web site, please contact us: We hereby acknowledge the original custodians of the land which is described on these pages, including the Gomeroi/Gamilaraay people of the North-west Slopes and Plains of NSW, and the traditional owners of other lands and nations within this country. We acknowledge elders past, present and emerging. Sovereignty was never ceded.          Last updated: Sun, 4 June 2023, 3:01 +00:00