photo by Albin Jacob
Latin Name: Ardea alba
Species: Birds
Conservation Status: S4-5 - Secure
Great egrets are all white wading birds, with long black legs, a long, s-curved neck, and a yellowish-orange bill. During flight, their long necks are tucked and their legs extend far beyond the tip of their tail. Adults will have aigrettes (long feathery plumes on the head) during breeding season. Great egrets can reach lengths of 37-49 inches, weigh 35 pounds, and have a wingspan of 51-57 inches.
Range & Habitat (map)
Great egrets are widely distributed and will migrate south for the winter, some as far as the West Indies or southern Central America. During milder years, some great egrets will remain as far north as Massachusetts. In the southern U.S., some great egrets might not migrate. They live in freshwater, brackish, and marine wetlands.
Diet
Great egrets consume small fish, amphibians, reptiles, birds, small mammals, and invertebrates, like crayfish, shrimp, worms, isopods, dragonflies, beetles, and grasshoppers. They hunt by standing still and striking with their long neck and bill. Hunting takes place in shallow water in places like marshes, streams, lakes, impoundments, tidal flats, ditches, flooded farm fields, and sometimes in upland habitats.
Life History
Great egrets are colony nesters during breeding season. They will nest in trees or shrubs located on lakes, ponds, marshes, estuaries, impoundments, and often on islands that are isolated from mammalian predators. Their stick nests are built high in trees, up to 100 feet off the ground. Occasionally, they will build nests on the ground or an artificial platform. Males begin to build the nest before pairing with a female. The pair will then complete the nest together. Nests are about 3 feet across and 1 foot deep. They lay 1-6 eggs and have 1-2 broods. Incubation is about 23-27 days with a nesting period of 21-25 days. Nestlings exhibit a behavior called siblicide, where a dominant chick sometimes end up stabbing the youngest sibling to death.
Significance
The great egret is an iconic species of coastal waterways, and often a favorite of recreational birders as they are easy to find and identify. They are also the symbol for the National Audobon Society, which was founded to protect these birds from being killed for their aigrettes, or plumes.
Threats & How You Can Help
In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, more than 95% of egrets in North America were killed to decorate hats. Plume hunting was banned around 1910 and the great egret population quickly recovered. Today, threats to the great egret include habitat loss and degradation and contamination runoff from farm fields or sewage treatment. These birds are protected under the Migratory Bird Treaty Act.