Ardea alba
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Mass
~870 g
Habitat
Wetlands and marshes
Diet
Fish and aquatic animals
How to recognize it
The Great Egret has a clean white look and a long, elegant neck that makes it easy to notice at the water’s edge. In flight, it folds its neck back, which gives it the classic heron shape.
It moves slowly and deliberately, scanning ahead for food. It is usually quiet, but when disturbed it gives a low, hoarse croak, and colonies can be surprisingly noisy.
It lives close to water in marshes, river floodplains, lakeshores, estuaries, mangroves, and sometimes in fields and rice paddies. It feeds on fish, frogs, snakes, crayfish, small mammals, and insects, and in warm regions it may stay all year while spreading farther north in parts of Europe.
Quick Facts
Listen to the call
The Great Egret has a clean white look and a long, elegant neck that makes it easy to notice at the water’s edge. In flight, it folds its neck back, which gives it the classic heron shape.
It moves slowly and deliberately, scanning ahead for food. It is usually quiet, but when disturbed it gives a low, hoarse croak, and colonies can be surprisingly noisy.
It lives close to water in marshes, river floodplains, lakeshores, estuaries, mangroves, and sometimes in fields and rice paddies. It feeds on fish, frogs, snakes, crayfish, small mammals, and insects, and in warm regions it may stay all year while spreading farther north in parts of Europe.
