Little egret (Egretta garzetta)

Little egret (Egretta garzetta) is a species of bird in the family Ardeidae. Adults have a body length of 55–65 cm, a wingspan of 88–106 cm, and a weight of 350–550 grams; their maximum lifespan in the wild is approximately 22.3 years. Their plumage is typically entirely white, although a dark morph also exists, characterized by predominantly bluish-gray feathers.

During the breeding season, adults develop two long, slender, pointed plumes on the nape, forming a crest that can reach 150 mm in length. Similar, though more sparsely arranged, plumes appear on the breast. Elongated, loose-textured scapular (shoulder) plumes can also develop, reaching lengths of up to 200 mm.



In the winter, the scapular plumes are shorter. The bill is long and slender; both the bill and the area between the bill and the eyes (the lores) are black. The bare skin at the base of the lower mandible and around the eyes is greenish-gray, and the irises are yellow. The legs are black, with yellow feet.

Juveniles resemble adults in their non-breeding plumage, but their legs are greenish-black, their feet are a dull yellow, and some of their feathers may appear grayish or brownish.

E. garzetta is generally silent, but within breeding colonies, it produces various harsh, guttural, or bubbling sounds; when disturbed, it may emit a sharp, grating alarm call.

The breeding range of E. g. garzetta encompasses southern Europe, the Middle East, most of Africa, and southern Asia. Many of these populations migrate to Africa, though some remain in southern Europe, while certain Asian populations migrate to the Philippines. E. g. nigripes is a resident (non-migratory) population found in Indonesia and New Guinea. E. g. immaculata inhabits Australia and New Zealand.

The habitat of this species includes the edges of lakes, rivers, canals, ponds, lagoons, marshes, and inundated lands. These birds prefer open locations over areas with dense vegetation. In coastal regions, they inhabit mangrove areas, swamps, mudflats, sandy beaches, and coral reefs. They are frequently seen moving among livestock.

They are highly social birds and are often observed in small groups. However, they do not tolerate other individuals coming too close to their chosen foraging sites, though this behavior can vary depending on the availability of prey.

They employ various methods to obtain food: stalking through shallow water—often running with their wings raised or shuffling their feet to flush out small fish—or standing perfectly still, waiting to ambush their prey.

They are opportunistic feeders. On land, they walk or run in pursuit of prey, feeding on small animals disturbed by grazing livestock, consuming parasites found on the livestock, and even scavenging for carrion. Their diet consists of fish, amphibians, small reptiles, mammals, birds, crustaceans, mollusks, insects, spiders, and worms.

This species nests in colonies, often alongside other wading birds. Such colonies can even be found in urban areas, where they coexist with various other bird species. Their nests are constructed as platforms of twigs, built in trees, shrubs, reed beds, bamboo thickets, or on cliffs.

Breeding pairs defend a small territory, typically extending about 3 to 4 meters around their nest. Three to five eggs are incubated by both parents for 21–25 days before hatching. The eggs are oval-shaped with a pale, non-glossy, greenish-blue shell. Newly hatched chicks are covered in soft white down; they are cared for by both parents and begin to fly after 40–45 days.

TAXON

Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Subphylum: Vertebrata
Class: Aves
Order: Pelecaniformes
Family: Ardeidae
Subfamily: Ardeinae
Genus: Egretta T. Forster (1817)
Species: Egretta garzetta Linnaeus (1766)
Subspecies: Egretta garzetta garzetta Linnaeus (1766), Egretta garzetta Temminck (1840), Egretta garzetta immaculata

SYNONYMS

Ardea garzetta Linnaeus, 1766

PUBLICATIONS

Mlodinow, S. G., G. M. Kirwan, and P. Pyle (2024). Little Egret (Egretta garzetta), version 2.1. In Birds of the World (B. K. Keeney, N. D. Sly, and S. M. Billerman, Editors). Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Ithaca, NY, USA. https://doi.org/10.2173/bow.litegr.02.1

VERNACULAR NAME

Afrikaans: Kleinwitreier
Albanian: Çafka e vogël e bardhë
Arabic: ابن الماء الصغير - بلشون أبيض صغير - بَياضي - سنقيل - غرنوق الأبيض الصغير
Asturian: Garcina
Basque: Lertxuntxo txiki
Belarusian: Чапля малая белая
Bulgarian: Малка бяла чапла
Catalan: Agró Blanc, Martinet Blanc
Chinese (simplified): 小白鹭 - 白鹭 - 鹭鸶
Chinese (traditional): 小白鷺
Croatian: Mala bijela čaplja
Czech: Volavka stříbřitá
Danish: Silkehejre
Divehi: ކުޑަ ލަގަނާ
Dutch: Kleine Zilverreiger, Australaziatische kleine zilverreiger
English: Little Egret
Esperanto: Malgranda egretardeo
Estonian: Siidhaigur
Faroese: Silkihegri
Finnish: Silkkihaikara
French: Aigrette garzette, Petite aigrette
Galician: Garzota
German: Seidenreiher
Greek: Κοινός Λευκοτσικνιάς
Guangdong: 小白鷺
Hebrew: לבנית קטנה
Hong Kong: 小白鷺
Hungarian: Kis kócsag
Icelandic: Bjarthegri
Indonesian: Kuntul kecil, Blekok kecil, Bangau kecil
Irish: Éigrit bheag
Italian: Garzetta
Japanese: コサギ - 小鷺
Java: Blekok cilik, Kuntul cilik
Jinan: 鹭鸶
Karnataka: ಸಣ್ಣ ಕೊಕ್ಕರೆ - ಸಣ್ಣ ಬೆಳ್ಳಕ್ಕಿ
Kazakh: Кіші аққұтан
Korean: 쇠백로
Latvian: Mazais baltais gārnis, Zīda gārnis
Lithuanian: Mažasis baltasis garnys
Luxembourgish: Klenge wäisse Reeër, Seidereeër
Macao: 小白鷺
Macedonian: Мала бела чапја
Maharashtra: मोरबगळा
Malayalam: ചിന്നമുണ്ടി
Malaysia: Bangau kecil, Belekok kecil
Marathi: मोरबगळा
Norwegian: Silkehegre
Okavango Basin: mMamoleane
Polish: Czapla nadobna
Portuguese: Garça-branca, Garça-branca-pequena
Romanian: Egretă mică
Russian: Малая белая цапля
Serbian: Mala bela čaplja, Мала бела чапља
Sinhalese: පුංචි ඇලි-කොකා
Slovak: Beluša malá
Slovenian: Mala bela čaplja
Spanish: Garceta común, Garza Chiquita
Swedish: Silkeshäger
Taiwan: 小白鷺
Tamil: சிறு வெண் கொக்கு - சின்னக் கொக்கு
Thai: นกยางเปีย
Tswana: mMamoleane
Turkish: Küçük Ak Balıkçıl, Küçük Akbalıkçıl
Ukrainian: Чепура мала
Welsh: Crëyr Bach

Aryo Bandoro
Dlium TheDlium
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@Dlium