Herons (Ardeidae)
Great White Egret (Egretta alba) - HBW 1, p. 409
French: Grande Aigrette
German: Silberreiher
Spanish: Garceta Grande
Other common names: Great/Large Egret, Great American Egret, Great White Heron(!)
Taxonomy: Ardea alba Linnaeus, 1758, Europe.
Frequently placed in genus Casmerodius, less often in Ardea; work on DNA indicates closer genetic link with Ardea than with Egretta. Four subspecies recognized.
Subspecies and Distribution:
- alba (Linnaeus, 1758) - C Europe to C Asia, S to Iran; winters N & C Africa and Persian Gulf to S China and S Korea.
- modesta (J. E. Gray, 1831) - India, SE Asia, Japan and Korea S through Indonesia to Australia and New Zealand.
- melanorhynchos (Wagler, 1827) - Africa S of Sahara, Madagascar.
- egretta (Gmelin, 1789) - N, C & S America, from N USA to C Argentina.
- Least Concern Enlarge map
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An adult in breeding plumage feeding the chicks on the nest. Locality Pine Island, St. Tammany Parish, Louisiana, USA (United States) (ssp egretta)
Bill Wayman 1 May 2005 4 years ago 32 sec 4.6 -
Frosty days for a great white egret. Filmed at -13 degrees. Locality Torfvennteich, Haltern-Lavesum, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany
Christian Wiesmann 6 February 2012 1 year ago 1 min 22 sec 4.6 -
An adult in breeding plumage preening. Locality Pine Island, St. Tammany Parish, Louisiana, USA (United States) (ssp egretta)
Bill Wayman 1 May 2005 4 years ago 1 min 4 sec 4.5 -
A bird catching a fish and eating it next to a Little Egret Locality El Burgo de Ebro, Zaragoza, Aragón, Spain (ssp alba)
Jesús Laborda 12 February 2008 4 years ago 33 sec 4.5 -
A pair courting. Locality Pine Island, St. Tammany Parish, Louisiana, USA (United States) (ssp egretta)
Bill Wayman 1 May 2005 4 years ago 43 sec 4.4 -
An adult in full breeding plumage showing the courtship display. Locality South Venice, Sarasota County, Florida, USA (United States) (ssp egretta)
Bill Wayman 1 June 2004 4 years ago 41 sec 4.4
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Flpping his wings in the early morning sun.
Locality Lednice, South Moravian Region, Czech Republic (ssp alba)
John A Thompson 19 August 2011 1 year ago 4.7 -
Flying over the largest pond
Locality Vasche di Maccarese, Litorale Romano Nature Reserve, Lazio Region, Italy (ssp alba)
Marco Valentini 16 October 2011 1 year ago 4.6 -
Landing in the river with early morning sunshine striking it
Locality Nam Sang Wai, Yuen Long, Hong Kong
Bob Thompson 6 November 2009 3 years ago 4.6 -
Bird landing in river, displaying its "angelic" wings
Locality Nam Sang Wai, Yuen Long, Hong Kong
Bob Thompson 6 November 2009 3 years ago 4.6 -
Great White Egret (aka Great Egret in No. America) on a windy winter morning.
Locality Walnut Creek, Contra Costa County, California, USA (United States)
Ethan Winning 15 January 2013 3 hours ago ADDED TODAY! 4.5 -
Taking off. wings spread
Locality Nam Sang Wai, Yuen Long, Hong Kong
Bob Thompson 7 February 2009 4 years ago 4.4
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Calls of a group fishing and chasing each other. Locality Pantanos del Usumacincta, Tabasco State, Mexico (Southern)
(ssp egretta)
Josep del Hoyo 14 April 2009 3 years ago 4.5 -
Adult in flight Locality Estancia El Bagual, Formosa Province, Argentina
(ssp egretta)
Nacho Areta 1 December 2006 3 years ago 4.5 -
Calls by one bird. Locality Chambal Safari Boating Platform, Chambal River, Rajasthan, India
(ssp modesta)
Josep del Hoyo 27 February 2011 1 year ago 4 -
A bird callin during breeding period Locality Bharatpur, Rajasthan, India
(ssp modesta)
RAM GOPAL SONI 1 August 2003 3 years ago 4 -
A bird calling in flight. Locality Western Treatment Plant, Werribee, Victoria, Australia
(ssp modesta)
Nick Talbot 26 March 2012 1 year ago 3 -
A bird calling. Locality Pantanos del Usumacincta, Chiapas State, Mexico (Southern)
(ssp egretta)
Josep del Hoyo 13 April 2009 3 years ago 2.5
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