Little Egrets

Little Egrets are uncommon in East Gippsland and when seen are usually solitary. Further north in Australia they are more abundant and can sometimes be found in loose companies.

We recently found about twenty Little Egrets on the Brunswick River in far north NSW. A flock of small white Egrets flew by our small boat leaving us wondering if they were Little or Intermediate Egrets. Later we found them perched with Little Black Cormorants in a dead tree among riverside mangroves where identification was possible – they were non-breeding Little Egrets.

When hunting for food in shallow water (saline or fresh) Little Egrets will often dash about after fish with raised wings, a sure ID characteristic. Intermediate and Great Egrets are stealthy stalking hunters, often standing motionless for extended periods before making lightning-fast lunges using their long retracted necks and dagger sharp bills to capture fish and other aquatic prey.

Please click on photos to enlarge.

Thirteen of the twenty or so Little Egrets perched with Little Black Cormorants in a dead tree on the Brunswick River.

No nuptial plumes were evident on the heads of any of the Little Egrets – a sign of non-breeding condition – not surprising given it was July and the breeding season in SE Australia is from October to February.

The light breeze is lifting the back-of-head feathers. This bird does have some plumes on the breast.

This bird may be an immature as it has no breeding plumes on the breast and the legs are grey-green. The facial skin is yellow however – it is yellow-green in less mature birds.

Little Egrets always have blackish bills (both in breeding and non-breeding condition) however the lower mandible has some yellow towards the base. Note the yellow soles – this is another unique ID feature of Littles though not often visible in the field. 

The bird is about to fly.

The bird above flew to a nearby mangrove where it used its wings to steady the landing until a stable perch was achieved. Note some breeding plumes are just visible on this bird near the tail. 

Some breast plumes are present on this bird.

While there is a significant size difference between Little, Intermediate and Great Egrets size is often difficult to assess in the field so other ID features usually need to be considered to confirm the ID of Egrets.