Great egret

Great egret
Adult in breeding plumage in Cape May County, New Jersey
Scientific classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Aves
Order: Pelecaniformes
Family: Ardeidae
Genus: Ardea
Species:
A. alba
Binomial name
Ardea alba
Range of A. alba (excluding A. a. modesta)
  Breeding range
  Year-round range
  Wintering range
Synonyms
  • Casmerodius albus (Linnaeus, 1758)
  • Egretta alba (Cramp and Simmons, 1977)
For the short story by Sarah Orne Jewett, see A White Heron.
For the eastern populations of this species, see Eastern great egret.
Not to be confused with the all-white population of the great blue heron.

The great egret (Ardea alba), also known as the common egret, large egret, or (in the Old World) great white egret or great white heron, is a large, widely distributed egret. The four subspecies are found in Asia, Africa, the Americas, and southern Europe. Recently it is also spreading to more northern areas of Europe. Distributed across most of the tropical and warmer temperate regions of the world, it builds tree nests in colonies close to water.

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