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Great Egret

Birds

The great egret is a large, elegant white wading bird found on nearly every continent except Antarctica, favoring wetlands, marshes, lakeshores and coastal habitats, where it hunts by standing still or wading slowly before striking fish, frogs and other small prey with a swift jab of its long yellow bill. It stands close to a metre tall with an entirely white plumage year-round, and during the breeding season it develops long, delicate plumes on its back called aigrettes, which were historically so prized for women's hats that the species was hunted nearly to extinction in parts of North America in the late 19th century. That devastating plume trade helped spark the early conservation movement in the United States, and the great egret remains the symbol of the National Audubon Society today. Populations have since recovered substantially under legal protection, and the species is now widespread and common.

Facts
Classification
Diet
Carnivore 2
System (Realm)
Terrestrial 3
System (Realm)
Freshwater 3
Relationship to People
Hunted or Fished 1
Living or Extinct
Yes 1
Derived from this species' own Conservation Status: this atlas's IUCN category list has no Extinct value, so a set conservation-status is itself evidence of living status.
Identification
Distinguishing Appearance
Apart from size, the great egret can be distinguished from other white egrets by its yellow bill and black legs and feet, though the bill may become darker and the lower legs lighter in the breeding season. 1
Comparison
NatureServe Rank
G5 Secure 4
CITES Appendix
Not Listed 2
Scientific Name
Ardea alba 1
Conservation Status
Least Concern 1
Connections

Child Taxon Of

Pelecaniformes, Taxa
Source Catalogue of Life

In Biome

Salt Marsh, Biomes
Source Encyclopaedia Britannica

In Ecosystem

Chernobyl Exclusion Zone, Ecosystems
Source Wikidata: Least Weasel
Additional Source Chernobyl exclusion zone (Wikipedia)Article text
Simpson Desert, Ecosystems
Source Wikidata: Dingo
Additional Source Simpson Desert (Wikipedia)Article text
In the Other Atlases

Found In

Africa

Also in Geography Atlas: where this subject is found.

Australasia

Also in Geography Atlas: where this subject is found.

Australia

Also in Geography Atlas: where this subject is found.

Brazil

Also in Geography Atlas: where this subject is found.

Colombia

Also in Geography Atlas: where this subject is found.

Denmark

Also in Geography Atlas: where this subject is found.

Ecuador

Also in Geography Atlas: where this subject is found.

North America

Also in Geography Atlas: where this subject is found.

Norway

Also in Geography Atlas: where this subject is found.

Poland

Also in Geography Atlas: where this subject is found.

South America

Also in Geography Atlas: where this subject is found.

South Asia

Also in Geography Atlas: where this subject is found.

Spain

Also in Geography Atlas: where this subject is found.

Sweden

Also in Geography Atlas: where this subject is found.

Ukraine

Also in Geography Atlas: where this subject is found.

United States

Also in Geography Atlas: where this subject is found.

Uruguay

Also in Geography Atlas: where this subject is found.

Venezuela

Also in Geography Atlas: where this subject is found.

Sources
1. Great Egret (Wikipedia)
Wikimedia Foundation
  • lead paragraph
    The great egret (Ardea alba), also known as the common egret, large egret, great white egret, or great white heron, is a large, widely distributed egret.
  • Description section
    Apart from size, the great egret can be distinguished from other white egrets by its yellow bill and black legs and feet, though the bill may become darker and the lower legs lighter in the breeding season.
  • Speciesbox infobox, status parameter (IUCN3.1 assessment, BirdLife International 2025)
View the Source
2. Animal Diversity Web, University of Michigan Museum of Zoology: Animal Diversity Web: Ardea alba
Animal Diversity Web, University of Michigan Museum of Zoology
  • Primary Diet, Ardea alba
    Primary Diet carnivore carnivore
  • Conservation Status: CITES
    CITES No special status
View the Source
3. GBIF Species API
GBIF Species APIView the Source
4. NatureServe Explorer: Ardea alba
NatureServe ExplorerGlobal rank (roundedGRank)
Quote, Global rank (roundedGRank)
"roundedGRank": "G5"
View the Source
Wikidata: Great Egret
Wikidata Q130730, class allow-list match (w-wdresolver-0926)View the Source
Encyclopaedia Britannica
Encyclopaedia Britannica, Inc.In Biome: Salt MarshView the Source
Catalogue of Life
Species 2000 & ITIS Catalogue of LifeChild Taxon Of: PelecaniformesView the Source
Chernobyl exclusion zone (Wikipedia)
WikipediaIn Ecosystem: Chernobyl Exclusion Zone, Article text
Quote, In Ecosystem: Chernobyl Exclusion Zone, Article text
The populations of traditional Polesian animals (such as the gray wolf, badger, wild boar, roe deer, white-tailed eagle, black stork, western marsh harrier, short-eared owl, red deer, moose, great egret, whooper swan, least weasel, common kestrel, and beaver) have multiplied enormously and begun expanding outside the zone.
View the Source
Simpson Desert (Wikipedia)
WikipediaIn Ecosystem: Simpson Desert, Article text
Quote, In Ecosystem: Simpson Desert, Article text
The birds that use these wetlands include the freckled duck (Stictonetta naevosa), musk duck (Biziura lobata), silver gull (Larus novaehollandiae), Australian pelican (Pelecanus conspicillatus), great egret (Ardea alba), glossy ibis (Plegadis falcinellus), and banded stilt (Cladorhynchus leucocephalus).
View the Source
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