Little Egret - Egretta garzetta

Little Egret

Egretta garzetta

Order : Ciconiiformes

Family : Ardeidae ;

Biometrics :

Size : 55 à 65 cm
Wingspan : 83 à 95 cm
Weight : 500 g

Longevity : 9 years

IUCN conservation status :

Extinct

Threatened

Least
concern

Extinc
in the Wild

Near
threatened

Not
evaluated

EX EW CR EN VU NT LC NE

Geographic range :

Synonyms : Malaya Belaya Tsaplya (ru), Silkeshäger (sv), Garceta común (es), Garzetta (it), Seidenreiher (al), Kleine Zilverreiger (nl), Little Egret (en)

Physical description :
Little Egret is a small and elegant white egret, showing slender neck, fine pointed black bill and black legs with yellow feet.
Adult in breeding plumage has bluish face and reddish lores. We can see two long fine white hindcrown feathers, extending from the nape to the mid-neck. It also has 'aigrettes', long feathers of upper breast and recurved scapular feathers. At this time, Little Egret has greyish base of lower mandible. Feet turn bright yellow-orange, even pinkish for short time.
In winter plumage, bill is black, lores are greyish, and feet are pale yellow or greenish-yellow. And it lacks long feathers on nape, and 'aigrettes' in scapulars and breast. Eyes are pale yellow.
Both sexes are similar.
Juvenile resembles adult in winter plumage, with duller or greenish bill and legs, and grey-green feet, less contrasting.

Voice :
Sound from CD 'Tous les Oiseaux d'Europe' by Jean C. Roché by courtesy of Sittelle and CEBA. Little Egret is usually silent except in breeding colonies. We can hear a grating 'kgarrk' or 'aaahk' when take off or in feeding areas.

Habitat : Little Egret is found in a wide variety of open inland and coastal wetlands, shallow water around lakes, rivers, streams and estuaries.
GEOGRAPHIC RANGE: Little Egret breeds in warm temperate parts of Europe, Asia, Africa and Australia. Most birds are residents. But northern populations migrate to Africa and Southern Asia.
Little Egret starts to colonise the New World, breeding in Bahamas, and seen in Caribbean and Surinam.

Behaviour : Little Egret hunts near floating vegetation, searching for prey in shade. They sometimes crouch with wings slightly fanned, to reduce sun's glare or create shade to attract some prey under the surface. They may also rush around in shallow water. They may stalk prey in shallow water, walking slowly. We can see it stand on one leg, while it is stirring the mud with the other, to scare up prey, or waving the other foot over water surface to lure prey into the range of its bill.
Little Egret hunts alone, but when they hunt in group, they are relatively far from each other, defending their own food area aggressively.
They roost with other species of herons and egrets, in mangroves, reedbeds or snags over open water.
Little Egret from northern parts of the range migrate to South to winter. They travel in large dispersal flocks.
Courtship displays shows the male fluffing its body plumage when other egret is too close. Male and female may offer some twigs to each other before copulation, and when pair is formed, both adults build the nest.

Flight : Little Egret as powerful flight, with slow wing beats. It flies with retracted neck between scapulars, and legs and feet projected behind the body.

Reproduction-nesting : Little Egret nests in colonies, with other heron and wetland species. They nest in reedbeds, wetland scrubs or trees near water, up to 20 metres above the ground.
Nest is a platform made with twigs or reeds. Male brings material to female which builds the nest.
Female lays 3 to 5 pale greenish blue eggs, at intervals of one or two days. Incubation starts with the first egg laid, and lasts about 21 to 25 days, shared by both parents. Each adult sits 3 to 4 hours on the nest, and when it is time to change, both adults fluff their feathers and bow in front of each other, while they utter their grating elongated 'aaahk-aaahk-aaahk'.
Chicks hatch covered with white down, with pink bill and legs, turning quickly to bluish-grey. They are fed by both adults, with regurgitated food into their bills.
At about three weeks, young leave the nest to move into nearly branches. They are not able to fly, but they are very agile to walk on branches.
They perform their first flight with parents at about 5 weeks of age, learning to fly and to hunt in shallow water. They roost with the colony every night until they are independent.

Food habits : Little Egret feeds on small fishes, frogs, lizards, worms, crustaceans, molluscs and a wide part of insects.

Protection / threats : During the late 19th and early 20th centuries, feathers of egrets were in high demand to decorate women's hats, and birds were shot while raising their young, leaving them to die.
Today, they are threatened by habitat loss and pollution, but populations are stable.

Other links :
Iucn
Birdlife

Specification sheet created by Nicole Bouglouan

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