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Little Egret

Egretta garzetta

Herons, Egrets, and Bitterns
Little Egret, photographed by JJ Harrison ( https://www.jjharrison.com.au/ )

Photo: JJ Harrison ( https://www.jjharrison.com.au/ ) · Wikimedia · CC-BY 3.0 (licence)

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Call and song

About the Little Egret

Small snow-white heron with slender dark bill, blackish legs, and yellowish feet ("golden slippers"). Breeding adult has 2 long wispy head plumes and a spray of white plumes ("aigrettes") on the lower back. Inhabits a wide variety of wetlands: lakes, rivers, marshes, estuaries—almost anywhere with small fish. Occurs as singles or small loose groups; nests and roosts communally. Distinctive within its range, but compare with larger Great and Intermediate Egrets, stockier Cattle Egret, and white morph reef herons.

Species account: eBird.org, fetched 2025-12-26 · How these pages are made

Where it has been recorded

Recorded in 189 of the 253 countries we have eBird lists for. Each opens that country's checklist.

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