Little egret
Egretta garzetta (Linnaeus, 1766)
The little egret (Egretta garzetta) is a bird in the family Ardeidae and the order Pelecaniformes. It is a small bird with an adult body mass of 312 g, up to 555 g, and a wingspan of 92 cm.
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Quick facts about the little egret
The little egret is a carnivorous aquatic predator of wetland habitat with a terrestrial foraging lifestyle, and it is partially migratory. It is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List, which is not a threatened category, and checklists record it in Australia.
- Weight
- 312 g – 555 gsrc for Weight
- Length
- Not recorded
- Wingspan
- 92 cmsrc for Wingspan
- Lifespan
- 22.3 yearssrc for Lifespan
- Diet
- Aquatic predatorsrc for Diet
- Longest recorded lifespan
- 22.3 years
- Main food
- Not recorded
- Habitat
- wetlandsrc for Habitat
- Egg incubation
- 21.5 dayssrc for Egg incubation
- Young per litter or clutch
- 3.5 – 4src for Young per litter or clutch
- Age at maturity
- 12 monthssrc for Age at maturity
- Litters or clutches a year
- 1src for Litters or clutches a year
- Reproduction
- Eggssrc for Reproduction
- Lifestyle
- Terrestrialsrc for Lifestyle
- Migration
- Partialsrc for Migration
- Conservation status
- Least Concern (IUCN)src for Conservation status
- Countries on record
- 1 countrysrc for Countries on record
How big is the little egret?
Photos of the little egret
Only freely licensed photos are shown. Each carries its creator and licence.
Where does the little egret live?
Countries where Catalogue of Life checklists list the species. Many checklists carry no country data, so the list is often incomplete. It is not a range map.
The little egret is listed for 1 country.
- Listed
- Not listed
The same countries as a list
Why a country list is not a range map
Listed by: ITIS (scope: global), through the Catalogue of Life.
What is the little egret?
The little egret (Egretta garzetta) is a species of small heron in the family Ardeidae. It is a white bird with a slender black beak, long black legs and, in the western race, yellow feet. As an aquatic bird, it feeds in shallow water and on land, consuming a variety of small creatures. It breeds colonially, often with other species of water birds, making a platform nest of sticks in a tree, bush or reed bed. A clutch of three to five bluish-green eggs is laid and incubated by both parents for about three weeks. The young fledge at about six weeks of age.
It is a polytypic species with two or arguably more subspecies. Its breeding distribution comprises the wetlands, waterways and shorelines of warm temperate to tropical parts of Asia, Africa, Australia, and Europe. A successful colonist, its range has gradually expanded north, with stable and self-sustaining populations now present in the United Kingdom.
In warmer locations, most birds are permanent residents; northern populations, including many European birds, migrate to Africa and southern Asia to over-winter there. The birds may also wander north in late summer after the breeding season, and their tendency to disperse may have assisted in the recent expansion of the bird's range. At one time common in Western Europe, it was hunted extensively in the 19th century to provide plumes for the decoration of hats and became locally extinct in northwestern Europe and scarce in the south. Around 1950, conservation laws were introduced in southern Europe to protect the species and their numbers began to increase. By the beginning of the 21st century the bird was breeding again in France, the Netherlands, Ireland and Britain. Its range is continuing to expand westward, and the species has begun to colonise the New World; it was first seen in Barbados in 1954 and first bred there in 1994. The International Union for Conservation of Nature has assessed the bird's global conservation status as being of "least concern".
From the Wikipedia article “Little egret” (en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Little_egret&oldid=1356733933), by Wikipedia contributors, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0 (creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0). This block is kept separate from our own text.
What does the little egret sound like?
Is the little egret endangered?
The little egret is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List: it is not currently at risk of extinction.
- LCLeast Concern
- NTNear Threatened
- VUVulnerable
- ENEndangered
- CRCritically Endangered
- EWExtinct in the Wild
- EXExtinct
Category via Wikidata (CC0). Find the full assessment on the IUCN Red List. See all Least Concern species. What the categories mean.
How is the little egret classified?
- kingdomAnimalia
- phylumChordata
- classAves
- orderPelecaniformes
- familyArdeidae
- genusEgretta
- SpeciesEgretta garzetta (Linnaeus, 1766)
Synonyms Ardea garzetta, Herodias garzetta
Other names and names in other languages (129)
- KleinwitreierAfrikaans
- سنقيلArabic
- بَياضيArabic
- الغرنوق الأبيضArabic
- ابن الماء الصغيرArabic
- بلشون أبيض صغيرArabic
- بلشون ابيض صغيرArabic
- غرنوق الأبيض الصغيرArabic
- Pescairet blancoAragonese
- GarcinaAsturian
- garcina blancaAsturian
- Kiçik ağ vağAzerbaijani
- Малая белая чапляBelarusian
- Чапля малая белаяBelarusian
- Малка бяла чаплаBulgarian
- ছোট বগাBangla
- Herlegon bihanBreton
- Agró BlancCatalan
- Martinet BlancCatalan
- martinet blanc comúCatalan
- volavka stříbřitáCzech
- crëyr bachWelsh
- Crehyrod BachWelsh
- silkehejreDanish
- SeidenreiherGerman
- ކުޑަ ލަގަނާDivehi
- ΧιονάτηGreek
- ΛευκοτσικνιάςGreek
- Κοινός ΛευκοτσικνιάςGreek
- eta egretardeoEsperanto
- Malgranda egretardeoEsperanto
- Garceta comúnSpanish
- Garza ChiquitaSpanish
- siidhaigurEstonian
- Lertxuntxo txikiBasque
- Lertxuntxo txikiaBasque
- اگرت کوچکPersian
- silkkihaikaraFinnish
- SilkihegriFaroese
- Petite aigretteFrench
- Aigrette garzetteFrench
- Lytse Wite ReagerWestern Frisian
- Éigrit bheagIrish
- Corra bheagScottish Gaelic
- Corra Gheal BheagScottish Gaelic
- GarzotaGalician
- Coar-vane vegManx
- Ti Krabye etranjeHaitian Creole
- לבנית קטנהHebrew
- Chinna vellai kokkuHindi
- mala bijela čapljaCroatian
- kis kócsagHungarian
- Տառեղ փոքր սպիտակArmenian
- Kuntul kecilIndonesian
- BjarthegriIcelandic
- garzettaItalian
- コサギJapanese
- 小鷺Japanese
- kosagiJapanese
- პატარა თეთრი ყანჩაGeorgian
- Кіші аққұтанKazakh
- Кишкене аққұтанKazakh
- ಸಣ್ಣ ಕೊಕ್ಕರೆKannada
- ಸಣ್ಣ ಬೆಳ್ಳಕ್ಕಿKannada
- 쇠백로Korean
- Kerghyth penvagas lyhaCornish
- Samunkomakwn
- SeidereeërLuxembourgish
- Klenge wäisse ReeërLuxembourgish
- mažasis baltasis garnysLithuanian
- Zīda gārnisLatvian
- mazais baltais gārnisLatvian
- мала бела чапјаMacedonian
- Мала бела (Сребреникава) чапјаMacedonian
- ചിന്നമുണ്ടിMalayalam
- Agrett AbjadMaltese
- korong ulamqj
- मोरबगळाMarathi
- लहान बगळाMarathi
- Burung Bangau KecilMalay
- silkehegreNorwegian Bokmål
- सानो सेतोबकुल्लाNepali
- kleine zilverreigerDutch
- Australaziatische kleine zilverreigerDutch
- Garsa Blanco OropeoPapiamento
- Garsa Blanku OropeoPapiamento
- czapla nadobnaPolish
- garça-branca-pequenaPortuguese
- Garça-brancaPortuguese
- garça-pequena-europeiaPortuguese
- Irun da saidaRomansh
- egreta micăRomanian
- Egretă micăRomanian
- малая белая цапляRussian
- SilkeháigirNorthern Sami
- පුංචි ඇලි-කොකාSinhala
- beluša maláSlovak
- Volavka striebristáSlovak
- mala bela čapljaSlovenian
- LeholosianeSouthern Sotho
- çapkëbardha e vogëlAlbanian
- çafka e bardhë e vogëlAlbanian
- Çafka e vogël e bardhëAlbanian
- çajma e bardhë e vogëlAlbanian
- çapka e bardhë e vogëlAlbanian
- gata e bardhë e vogëlAlbanian
- gatëza e bardhë e vogëlAlbanian
- gelca e bardhë e vogëlAlbanian
- Мала бела цаплјаSerbian
- Мала бела чапљаSerbian
- Mala bela capljaSerbian
- silkeshägerSwedish
- DandalaSwahili
- badakuwangszy
- சின்ன கொக்குTamil
- சின்னக் கொக்குTamil
- சிறு வெண் கொக்குTamil
- นกยางเปียThai
- kucuk ak balikcilTurkish
- küçük ak balıkçılTurkish
- mMamoleaneTswana
- Чепура малаUkrainian
- Мала біла чапляUkrainian
- GarzetaVenetian
- Cò trắngVietnamese
- Kleine zilverreiherZeelandic
- 白鹭Chinese
- 小白鷺Chinese
- iNgekleZulu
Catalogue of LifeWikipediaiNaturalistTAXREFWikidataWoRMSIUCN Red List
Relatives of the little egret
Other species in the same genus Egretta.
Western reef heron
Egretta gularis
Pacific reef heron
Egretta sacra
Snowy egret
Egretta thula
Tricolored heron
Egretta tricolor
Black heron
Egretta ardesiaca
Little blue heron
Egretta caerulea
CompareLittle egret vs Western reef heronLittle egret vs Pacific reef heronLittle egret vs Snowy egretLittle egret vs Tricolored heron
Common questions
Each answer is written from the sourced facts on this page, and only where they hold the answer.
What kind of animal is the little egret?
The little egret is a bird in the family Ardeidae, order Pelecaniformes, and genus Egretta.
How big is the little egret?
The little egret is a small bird with an adult body mass of 312 g, up to 555 g. Its wingspan is 92 cm.
What does the little egret eat?
The little egret is an aquatic predator and a carnivore.
Is the little egret endangered?
No. It is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List, which is not a threatened category.
How long does the little egret live?
The little egret has a lifespan of 22.32 years, with values up to 22.34 years reported.
How many eggs does the little egret lay?
The little egret lays 4 eggs per clutch and has 1 clutch per year. The eggs are incubated for 21.5 days.
Which countries is the little egret recorded in?
Checklists record the little egret in Australia. Its habitat is wetland.
Who named the little egret?
The little egret, Egretta garzetta, was named by (Linnaeus, 1766).
Sources and how to cite this page
Data as of 2026-11-11. How this page is put together.
- An amniote life-history database to perform comparative analyses with birds, mammals, and reptiles · CC0 1.0 · E096-269
Myhrvold, N.P., Baldridge, E., Chan, B., Sivam, D., Freeman, D.L. & Ernest, S.K.M. (2015) An amniote life-history database to perform comparative analyses with birds, mammals, and reptiles. Ecology 96: 3109. https://doi.org/10.1890/15-0846R.1. Data: https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.3563457.v1 - AVONET: morphological, ecological and geographical data for all birds · CC BY 4.0 · v7
Tobias, J.A. et al. (2022) AVONET: morphological, ecological and geographical data for all birds. Ecology Letters 25: 581–597. https://doi.org/10.1111/ele.13898. Data: https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.16586228.v7 - Catalogue of Life eXtended Release · CC BY 4.0 · 2026-10-16 XR
Catalogue of Life (2026). Catalogue of Life eXtended Release, version 2026-10-16 XR. Catalogue of Life Foundation, Amsterdam, Netherlands. https://doi.org/10.48580/dgzlf - Wikimedia Commons · per file (CC0 / public domain / CC BY green, CC BY-SA amber, anything else not displayed) · 2026-11-11
Wikimedia Commons contributors. Wikimedia Commons. https://commons.wikimedia.org (each file credited to its author under its own licence). - Wikidata · CC0 1.0 · 2026-11-11
Wikidata contributors. Wikidata. https://www.wikidata.org (data retrieved via the Wikidata Query Service). - Wikipedia (English) · CC BY-SA 4.0 · 2026-11-11
Wikipedia contributors. Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. https://en.wikipedia.org (text under CC BY-SA 4.0; each block names its article and revision).
Embed a card for this animal on your own site
Copy this code. The card shows the photo with its credit, key facts and a link back to this page.
CreatureData. (2026). Little egret (Egretta garzetta). Retrieved from https://creaturedata.com/animals/little-egret
“Little egret (Egretta garzetta).” CreatureData, 2026, https://creaturedata.com/animals/little-egret.
@misc{little_egret_2026,
title = {Little egret (Egretta garzetta)},
author = {{CreatureData}},
year = {2026},
url = {https://creaturedata.com/animals/little-egret},
note = {Data as of 2026-11-11}
}