Great Egret

The Great Egret (Ardea alba), also known as the common egret, large egret, or (in the old world) great white egret or great white heron is a large, widely distributed egret, with four subspecies found in Asia, Africa, the Americas, and southern Europe, recently also spreading to more northern areas of Europe. Distributed across most of the tropical and warmer temperate regions of the world, it builds tree nests in colonies close to water.

The Great Egret is a large heron with all-white plumage. The great egret can be identified from other white egrets by its yellow bill, black legs, and feet, though during the breeding season the beak may turn darker and the lower legs paler. Delicate decorative feathers are carried on the back in breeding plumage. Juveniles resemble nonbreeding adults; males and females have the same appearance. Differentiated from the intermediate egret (Mesophoyx intermedius) by the gape, which extends well beyond the back of the eye in case of the great egret, but ends just behind the eye in case of the intermediate egret.