5 |
|
Great EgretAlternative names: "Egret", "Large Egret", "White Egret", "Eastern Great Egret", "White Crane*" Aboriginal name: "moolpa" Size: 0.85-1.05 m; wing span 1.45-1.65 m Weight: 0.7-1.5 kg |
 |
Similar species |
|
SUBSECTIONS:
Classification
Distribution
Sightings
Photos
Breeding
Nest
Eggs
Behaviour
Food
|
|
|
Taxonomy, classification |
See Great Egret
at Wikipedia 
.
|
|
Range, habitat, finding this species |
(for details refer to a field guide) |
Click here to display information on habitat,
range and finding this species
|
|
Sightings |
Great Egrets are found along waterways in many parts of Australia.
Click here to display more sighting
information
Also seen by us in December 2009 in Oman.
|
|
Photos |
Race "modesta"
Not the photos you want? Or are you after even better quality? Have a
look here 
.
Dorsal view of a Great Egret in breeding plumage; note also the
colour of the bill
[Near Narrabri, NSW, 2006]
Great Egret in breeding plumage (left), together with a
Cattle Egret
(centre) and an Intermediate Egret (right);
all of them are searching for nesting material under a tree after a
violent storm
[Narrabri Lake, NSW, December 2010]
Portrait of a Great Egret in non-breeding plumage; the tip of
the bill is just turning dark at the start of the breeding season
[Narrabri Lake, NSW, September 2010]
Lateral view of a Great Egret in non-breeding plumage
[Narrabri, NSW, September 2007]
Near-dorsal view of a Great Egret in non-breeding plumage, with
just a few whisps of its breeding plumage emerging (photo courtesy
of S. Kirkby)
Dorsal view of a Great Egret in non-breeding plumage
[Narrabri Lake, NSW, September 2010]
Great Egret in flight, seen from underneath
[Narrabri Lake, NSW, December 2010]
Lateral view of a Great Egret in flight
[Narrabri Lake, NSW, September 2011]
Great Egret in breeding plumage hovering in high wind
[Narrabri Lake, NSW, December 2010]
Dorsal view of a Great Egret in breeding plumage in flight
[Narrabri Lake, NSW, December 2010]
Lateral view of a Great Egret in non-breeding plumage in flight,
looking a bit like a ballerina...
[Narrabri Lake, NSW, April 2013]
Lateral view of a Great Egret in non-breeding plumage in flight,
exhibiting very clearly the distinctive kink of its long neck
[Narrabri Lake, NSW, April 2013]
Dorsal view of a Great Egret in non-breeding plumage in flight
[Narrabri Lake, NSW, April 2013]
Great Egret in flight, with its head down by its dangling feet...
[Narrabri Lake, NSW, November 2012]
A whole array of aquatic birds hunting/foraging in O'Brien's
Creek at Narrabri, NSW:
three White-necked
Herons,
two Australian White
Ibis in breeding plumage,
two Great Egrets,
one Purple Swamphen,
one Dusky Moorhen
and two Pacific Black
Ducks
[Narrabri Lake, NSW, September 2011]
Here a Great Egret in flight (front left), together with an
Intermediate
Egret in the background; the main distinction between the
two is in the lores, which extend to behind the eye for the Great
Egret, but not for the Intermediate Egret
[Narrabri Lake, NSW, August 2010]
|
|
Breeding information |
| Breeding season: Oct - May | Eggs: 2 - 5 | Incubation period: 25 - 26 days | Fledging age: 60 days |
The breeding season depends significantly on geographical latitude. In the tropical north Great Egrets breed Mar - May, which is late in the wet season. Given the right conditions Great Egrets can breed any time of the year. They breed in colonies, together with other aquatic birds. Their nests are usually the ones at the very tops of trees, with other species nesting lower.
|
|
Nest |
"bungobittah", "malunna" = Nest [Aboriginal] |
| Type: Basket | Material: Sticks | Height above ground: 10 - 30 m |
Seen nesting, together with other aquatic birds, along the shores of Narrabri Lake during the breeding season of 2008 and subsequent years.
Near-frontal view of a Great Egret standing on its nest
[Narrabri Lake, NSW, November 2011]
|
|
Eggs |
"boyanga", "booyanga", "derinya", "dirandil", "koomura", "nooluk" "pateena" = Egg; "dirundirri" = eggs [Aboriginal] |
| Size: 52 x 36 mm | Colour: Light blue | Shape: Tapered oval |
|
|
Behaviour |
| Social behaviour: Communal | Mobility: Dispersive | Elementary unit: Pair/flock |
 |
Additional information |
Click here to see a male Great Egret's display to woo a female.
While some bird species prefer perches always at roughly the same height, Great Egrets show flexibility. Note that they do not hunt from these positions; hunting is done by stalking prey in shallow water, as shown below. Most of the photos shown in this section were taken at Narrabri Lake.
Great Egret on its lookout high up in a dead tree
[Yarrie Lake, near Wee Waa, NSW, July 2010]
Sometimes Great Egret can be found in small trees overlooking
watercourses
[O'Brien's Creek, Narrabri Lake, NSW, May 2012]
Great Egret low on reeds, just above the water surface
[O'Brien's Creek, Narrabri Lake, NSW, June 2012]
|
|
Food, Diet |
All egrets and herons prey on aquatic creatures in fresh water or estuaries (fish, frogs, snakes or crustaceans). Great Egrets will take any of those.
Great Egret hunting at the foot of a cascade...
[Narrabri Lake, NSW, September 2010]
Great Egret with its prey - albeit a bit ambitious
[Narrabri Lake, NSW, September 2010]
Great Egret hunting in shallow water; the last jab has missed its
target
[Rockhampton, QLD, July 2009]
