Ardea alba - The Great White Egret

 Ardea alba - A master fisherman 

By Lachlan Royle 

Distribution and History 

A GWE pictured on UEA campus 

 The Great White Egret is a large member of the Heron family,     they are a touch smaller than the Grey Heron but are longer and   slimmer. The Great White Egret is an example of a success story   amongst European birds, in 1970 there were roughly 150   individuals in the entirety of Europe alone, fast-forward to   present day there are roughly 2,000 UK individuals with Europe   now playing host to somewhere between 40,000 and 60,000. As   of 2021 for the first time in the UK the Great White Egret was no   longer classified as a rare bird. It is one of 4 breeding heron   species in the UK alongside its smaller cousin the Little Egret,   the common Grey Heron and the shy and scarce Eurasian Bittern.

 

 Historically Great White Egrets are a fascinating species, in   ancient Egypt it was seen to be a symbol of prosperity and purity,   as a result it was a relatively frequent sight in hieroglyphics.   During the 19th century the plumage of the Great White Egret   was seen as very desirable, this contributed to the species coming   under threat globally.

Behaviour 

A GWE displaying its neon green patch in breeding season

The Great White Egret like many members of the Heron family is a master huntsman specialising in fish. Most of their hunting is done in low light conditions at dusk or dawn, their technique is mostly ambushed based waiting for their prey to come within reach before striking at it with their beak with phenomenal accuracy and speed. In the breeding seasons male Great White Egrets have a patch of skin on their face that turns a neon green colour, they are a monogamous species although they often nest in colonies. A pair will generally produce one brood a year once they reach sexual maturity at 2-3 years of age. Both parents will participate in parental care and at around 3 weeks the chicks will disperse from the nest to nearby branches, for the following two weeks they will still accept food from their parents whilst also testing their flight skills for full fledging that normally occurs about 40 days after birth.