Little Egret
Egretta garzetta
Aves › Pelecaniformes › Ardeidae › Egretta
Conservation status: least_concern
This small heron is recognizable by its white plumage, slender black beak, and long black legs. As an aquatic bird, it feeds in shallow water and on land, consuming a variety of small creatures.
How To Identify
It is a slender, elegant egret characterized by completely uniform white plumage and strikingly long yellow legs and bills.
Habitat
It typically inhabits shallow wetlands, coastal marshes, estuaries, and inland lakes, preferring areas with calm water and abundant small fish.
Behaviour
Little Egrets employ a distinctive feeding technique called foot-stirring, where they rapidly shuffle their feet through shallow water to disturb and capture small fish and invertebrates.
Native Range
The little egret is native to warm temperate to tropical parts of Asia, Africa, Australia, and Europe.
Did You Know?
Little Egrets have bright yellow feet that they use to stir up mud and shallow water, flushing hidden prey into the open like tiny living fishing rakes. Their breeding plumage includes elegant head and back plumes that can double in length during courtship.
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