Bird: Great Egret (Ardea alba)

Height: 39"

Description: Big white heron with long, bright yellow bill and long black legs. Skin around eyes is yellow and extends out to bill. When breeding, yellow skin around eye turns bright green. Breeding bird has beautiful, long, elegant plumes on back that extend beyond the tail. Immature bird has duller legs and bill and no plumes.

Voice: A deep and croaking gutteral "aaarrr" or "raaahn". Audio is available at eNature.com.

Photograph by Tim Knop

Feeding: Feeds solitarily. Stalks prey, and then wags head side to side before striking. Eats fish, amphibians, reptiles including snakes, eels, and crayfish.

Behavior at Wakodahatchee: The Great Egret was formerly known as the "American Egret", "Common Egret", "Large Egret", "White Egret", "Great White Egret", and "Great White Heron." During the early 20th century it was the victim of persecution due to the popularity of its plume as a women's fashion accessory. At one point, an ounce of plume was worth more than an ounce of gold. The Great Egret roosts communally. During breeding, it grows beautiful long plumes on its back that it will display during courtship rituals. In late August and September of 2001, a flock of up to 100 Great Egrets began roosting for the night in the Bulrushes at Wakodahatchee. They roosted beside Snowy Egrets and in the vicinity of Tricolor and Little Blue Herons. The sound they made at sunset rivaled the Boat-tailed Grackles and Red-winged Blackbirds (which commonly roost in that location) for volume.

Click here for more information on The Great Egret from eNature.com