Birds · Pelecaniformes · Ardeidae

Great Egret

Ardea alba

Least Concern

The species is abundant and widely distributed; it faces no significant short-term risk. See full glossary

A large, slender heron with entirely white plumage that can reach a metre in height, with a very long S-shaped neck and a straight, sharp bill adapted to spearing prey. It flies with its neck drawn in, unlike storks, cranes and spoonbills.

Weight

700 g – 1.5 kg

Size

80 cm – 1.1 m

Diet

Carnivore

Feeds mainly on other animals.

Activity

Diurnal

Active mainly during the day.

Social structure

Colony

Lives in large concentrations, often for breeding reasons.

Sighting difficulty

Easy

Carnivore Diurnal Colonial Bird

48countries 28parks11same family

Fun facts

Mass killing for the ornamental plumes of its breeding plumage almost wiped it out at the start of the twentieth century, and was one of the triggers of the modern conservation movement.
It is the logo of the National Audubon Society, the organisation born out of that campaign.
In Doñana it places its nests even in cork oaks, as well as among the marsh vegetation.

Life cycle & biology

Skeleton type: Vertebrate - internal bony skeleton (bird)
Habitat & environment: All kinds of wetlands in temperate and tropical regions: marshes, pools, reservoirs, coastal rush beds and slow rivers, up to about 1,275 m of altitude. Present on every continent except Antarctica
Sexual maturity: 2 years
Gestation / incubation: 25-26 days, by both sexes
Litter / clutch size: 3-5 pale blue eggs (a range of 2 to 6)

Sources consulted: SEO/BirdLife; Birds of the World / Cornell Lab (Kushlan); IUCN Red List; Asturnatura; Animalia.bio; Waste Magazine