Little Egret

Egretta garzetta

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About the Little Egret

The little egret (Egretta garzetta) is a species of small heron in the family Ardeidae. It is a white bird with a slender black beak, long black legs and, in the western race, yellow feet. As an aquatic bird, it feeds in shallow water and on land, consuming a variety of small creatures. It breeds colonially, often with other species of water birds, making a platform nest of sticks in a tree, bush or reed bed. A clutch of three to five bluish-green eggs is laid and incubated by both parents for about three weeks. The young fledge at about six weeks of age. It is a polytypic species with two or arguably more subspecies. Its breeding distribution comprises the wetlands, waterways and shorelines of warm temperate to tropical parts of Asia, Africa, Australia, and Europe.

Source: Wikipedia

Classification

Scientific name: Egretta garzetta
Family: Herons, Egrets, and Bitterns
Order: Pelecaniformes

Similar species

Other members of the herons, egrets, and bitterns family recorded in North America — a useful place to start if you are not certain of your identification.

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