The Little Egret is a small white heron that rarely visits the eastern United States. Like the Snowy Egret (Egretta thula), the Little Egret has black legs and yellow feet. In breeding season, the Little Egret usually has two long, narrow head feathers, while the Snowy Egret has a shorter, bushier crest.
Appearance
- Appearance
- Adults are 1 ft 9 in–2 ft 1 in (55–65 cm) long, with white plumage, a dark bill, black legs, and yellow feet. Breeding adults usually show two long, narrow plumes behind the head.
Look-alikes
A breeding Little Egret has two long ribbon-like head plumes, while a Snowy Egret has a shorter, bushier crest. Little Egret usually has grayish skin between the eye and bill, while Snowy Egret usually shows bright yellow there.
Why they get mixed upBoth are small white egrets with black legs and yellow feet.
Great Egret (Ardea alba) is much larger and has a heavier yellow bill outside the brief peak of breeding condition. Little Egret is smaller, with a dark bill and yellow feet.
Why they get mixed upBoth can appear as all-white herons at a distance.
Where it lives
- Typical habitats
- coastal shallows
- salt marshes
- ponds
- river edges
- Range
- This Old World species is an accidental in eastern North America, with scattered records from Newfoundland south to Virginia and several records along the U.S. Atlantic Coast in warmer months.
- Seasonal presence
- It is a vagrant in the United States rather than a regular resident or migrant.
- Preferred conditions
- In its normal range it uses shallow fresh and salt water where it can walk while feeding.
Behavior
- Diet
- In its regular range, it catches small fish, frogs, and other small water animals without backbones in shallow water.
- Activity
- It walks through shallow water while looking for prey.
Life cycle
- Breeding season
- It does not regularly breed in the United States; the nearest small breeding population is in Barbados.
Conservation
- IUCN Red List
- LCLeast ConcernLow risk of extinction