Species Spotlight: Great Egret
The Great Egret can be seen in many North American wetland habitats! Great Egrets were hunted nearly to extinction for their plumes in the late nineteenth century, sparking conservation movements and some of the first laws to protect birds! Since then, egrets have faced major habitat loss and degradation, as well as threats like contaminated runoff from farm fields or sewage treatment. However, their populations appear stable and compared to other egrets and herons.
Great Egret
Ardea alba
The Great Egret uses its sharp bill to catch fish!
Great Egrets are slow but powerful flyers!
Great Egret
Scientific Name: Ardea alba
Identification: Great Egrets are tall, long-legged wading birds with long, S-curved necks and long, dagger-like bills. All Great Egrets have white feathers, yellowish-orange bills, and black legs.
Diet: The Great Egret eats mainly small fish but also eats amphibians, reptiles, birds, small mammals and invertebrates. It hunts in belly-deep or shallower water in marine, brackish, and freshwater wetlands, alone or in groups. It wades as it searches for prey, or simply stands still to wait for prey to approach!
Habitat: Great Egrets live in freshwater, brackish, and marine wetlands. During the breeding season they live in colonies in trees or shrubs, ranging across the southeastern states and in scattered spots throughout the rest of the U.S. and southern Canada.
Find this Species: Visit a pond or coastal marsh and look for an all-white bird with black legs and a yellow bill. It may be wading in the water or standing stock-still, looking down at the water as it searches for fish!
Interesting Facts: Early in the breeding season adults grow long plumes on their backs, which they raise in courtship displays. Males perform most of the displays, which can involve preening the wings, ducking the head, holding and shaking twigs in the bill, and stretching the neck.
A Great Egrets nest is up to 100 feet off the ground, often over water, usually in or near the top of a shrub or tree.
In flight, the long neck is tucked in and the legs extend far beyond the tip of the short tail. Great Egrets fly slowly but powerfully! With just two wingbeats per second their cruising speed is around 25 miles an hour.
The Great Egret is the symbol of the National Audubon Society, one of the oldest environmental organizations in North America. Audubon was founded to protect birds from being killed for their feathers.
