Great Egret

Garza Blanca

Egretta alba

Length: 900mm. Sexes alike. Bill, bare part of lores and eyelids, yellow; iris yellow; plumage immaculate white overall. Legs black. When in nuptial dress, it has a train of long dorsal plumes or aigrettes that extends far beyond their tails.

Its large size and pure white colour is diagnostic. Juveniles: like nonbreeding adults but with some black on bill; also, they lack ornamental plumes until their first prenuptial moult. Habitat and behaviour: it inhabits all kinds of water bodies such as marshes, lagoons, wetlands, rivers and streams, preferably with vegetation, as well as coastlines. Highly gregarious, it nests in colonies, and may huddle in roosting grounds even outside breeding season; may forage alone; as in most herons flight is slow with deliberate wing beats, the neck is retracted and its long legs trail behind the tail; when it takes off in fright it emits a loud and hoarse call that resembles a caw. It feeds on fish, amphibians, insects and their larvae; to seize its prey it often stands motionless stalking or wading in shallow waters. It usually nests in colonies of mixed species, alongside the Snowy Egret (Egretta thula), the White-necked Heron (Ardea cocoi) and others. It builds its nest in reed beds or on shrubs or trees in wetlands, with reeds and twigs; up to 5 light blue eggs are laid; both parents incubate eggs and brood and feed young. Range: wide cosmopolitan distribution, the subspecies or race Egretta alba egretta occurs from the south of the United States to Argentina; in Patagonia it can be found from Neuquén and Río Negro to Santa Cruz; on occasion, it may reach Tierra del Fuego and Islas Malvinas. On the Patagonian marine coastline, in Punta Clara, the authors have spotted a breeding colony, this site is located a few kilometres to the north of Punta Tombo, province of Chubut.