Similar Species
Snowy Egret
Adult
Snowy Egrets are smaller with a more slender bill than Great Egrets. Bill and feet color are the keys to separate them. Snowies have a black bill and yellow feet, whereas Great Egrets have a yellow bill and black feet.
© John Sutton | Macaulay LibraryFlorida, March 20, 2016Similar Species
Great Blue Heron
Adult (white form)
White forms of Great Blue Herons look similar to Great Egrets but they are larger with a heftier bill. Great Blues also have head plumes (not always visible) that Great Egrets don't have.
© Alex Lamoreaux | Macaulay LibraryFlorida, May 18, 2012Similar Species
Little Blue Heron
Juvenile
Juvenile Little Blue Herons are smaller with a thinner and darker, two-toned bill and greenish legs compared with Great Egrets.
© Zak Pohlen | Macaulay LibraryIdaho, October 26, 2015Similar Species
Reddish Egret
Breeding adult white morph
White-morph Reddish Egrets are smaller than Great Egrets. Their shaggy-looking neck and pale, two-toned bill separate them from the smooth-necked and yellow-billed Great Egret.
© Jason Leifester | Macaulay LibraryTexas, April 20, 2017Similar Species
Wood Stork
Adult
Wood Storks are larger than Great Egrets with a much longer and heavier bill. They have black primaries that are visible in flight, whereas Great Egrets are entirely white.
© Jim Sculatti | Macaulay LibraryTexas, June 17, 2017Main Species
Great Egret
Adult
Long-legged wading bird with a long, S-curved neck and a daggerlike bill.
© Alex Lamoreaux | Macaulay LibraryPennsylvania, August 17, 2016Breeding adult
During the breeding season, long feathery plumes grow from its back, called aigrettes which they hold up during courtship displays.
© Darren Clark | Macaulay LibraryTexas, April 12, 2016Adult
Slowly walks through freshwater or estuarine habitats hunting foraging with stand-and-wait techniques.
© Eric Liner | Macaulay LibraryFlorida, January 18, 2009Adult
Flies with its long neck tucked in and its long legs trailing behind.
© Tom Johnson | Macaulay LibraryNew Jersey, July 25, 2017Adult
Wades through water slowly stalking fish, amphibians, and other aquatic invertebrates.
© Evan Lipton | Macaulay LibraryMassachusetts, April 18, 2015Adult
Great Egrets are opportunistic foragers. They primarily consume fish, but also eat crustaceans, amphibians, and small mammals.
© Hannah Walker | Macaulay LibraryCalifornia, December 14, 2009Adult (with Snowy Egret)
Larger than a Snowy Egret with a yellow bill and entirely black legs and feet.
© Chris McCreedy - no playbacks | Macaulay LibraryArizona, November 17, 2016Habitat
Found in both freshwater and saltwater wetlands.
© Jonathan Eckerson | Macaulay LibraryMassachusetts, December 21, 2016Breeding adult with Roseate Spoonbills
Males perform elegant courtship displays by raising long plumes on their backs. Displays also include head bowing or neck stretching.
© Larry Arbanas | Macaulay LibraryTexas, April 26, 2007Great Egrets while solitary foragers, roost and nest in mixed-species colonies in trees and shrubs.
© Larry Arbanas | Macaulay LibraryTexas