Little Egret

The Little Egret is a small, slender, entirely white heron with a thin black bill, black legs, and contrasting bright yellow feet. During the breeding season, adults develop two long, thin plumes trailing from the back of the head and delicate lacy plumes on the back and breast.

Widespread across Europe, Africa, Asia, and Australia, it is the Old World ecological counterpart to the American Snowy Egret, sharing a similar size, structure, and active feeding style.

Key field marks

• Small, all-white body
• Thin, straight black bill
• Black legs with contrasting bright yellow feet
• Two long, thin nape plumes in breeding adults

Similar species

• Great Egret: much larger with a yellow bill and black (not yellow-footed) legs
• Snowy Egret: very similar in appearance but found in the Americas rather than the Old World; the two are considered separate species
• Cattle Egret: stockier, shorter-necked, with a yellow or orange bill rather than black

The combination of small size, black bill, black legs, and yellow feet reliably identifies the Little Egret across its Old World range.

Range and habitat

Little Egrets are widespread across Europe, Africa, Asia, and Australia, occupying freshwater and coastal wetlands, estuaries, rice paddies, and mangroves, and have expanded their range northward into parts of Europe in recent decades.

Migration

Populations in warmer climates are generally resident, while northern breeding populations in temperate Europe and Asia migrate south to Africa or southern Asia for winter.

Behavior

Little Egrets are active, energetic foragers, frequently running, stirring the water with their feet, and flicking their wings to disturb prey, in contrast to the more stationary hunting style of larger herons.

Voice

Calls include harsh croaks and squawks, typically given at breeding colonies rather than while foraging, when the species is usually quiet.

Feeding

They feed on small fish, amphibians, and aquatic invertebrates, often using their bright yellow feet to stir up prey from the substrate before striking with the bill.

Nesting and breeding

Little Egrets nest colonially, often in mixed colonies with other herons and egrets, building stick nests in trees, reedbeds, or shrubs near water; both parents share incubation of typically three to five pale blue-green eggs.