Wednesday 9 September 2009

Little Egret (Egretta garzetta)

OTHER NAMES: N/A
Latin Etymology: Egretta ("egret") garzetta ("Italian name for species")
Adult Little Egret (subspecies E. g. garzetta) at Padstow, Cornwall - May 2012

Featured Subspecies: Egretta garzetta garzetta
Weight: 350-550g  /  Length: 55-65cm  /  Wingspan: 88-106cm
UK GREEN LIST IUCN Red List: Least Concern

The little egret is a recent colonist to this country, only establishing themselves in the last 15 years. I recall being incredibly surprised seeing a colony on the river Fal when I was a child, a number of them perched on a tree seemed incredibly exotic compared to their much more common relation the grey heron. As of this last year they've spread far enough North that I've had two sightings in Geddington along the river! They are seemingly more timid than grey herons in the UK at least, but the individuals I have encountered in other countries far less so.  In Japan they are more commonplace than in the UK, where they still are largely found in the South of England.


Related Species:

Order: Pelecaniformes
Family: Ardeidae
Genus: Egretta
Subspecies: E. g. garzetta, E. g. nigripes, E. g. immaculata, E. g. dimorpha 

- Sighting Locations -
UNITED KINGDOM - Common to Locally abundant Breeding Resident (9000 pairs) and Common Winter Visitor (41000 birds)
CAMBODIA - Khmerកុកគ្រោងតូច ("Little ?")
 A fairly common, and locally abundant resident
 - CAMBODIA/SINGAPORE 2019 TRIP: Abundant Prek Toal
ITALY - ItalianLa Garzetta ("Egret")
A resident.
 - SICILY 2018 TRIP - One seen at Fiume Ciane 
JAPAN - Japaneseコサギ  /  Ko-sagi ("Small Heron")
Locally common resident - subspecies P. c. hanedae. Mostly freshwater only, replaced on the coast by the Japanese Cormorant.
 - KYOTO 2013 TRIP: Several seen on the Kamo River in Central Kyoto.
MALAYSIA - Malay - Bangau Kecil ("Small Heron")
A locally common resident
 - MALAYSIA/SINGAPORE 2016 TRIP: Several pairs seen near the shorefront in Malacca
SINGAPORE 
A fairly common resident
 - CAMBODIA/SINGAPORE 2019 TRIP:Several at Sungei Buloh
SPAIN - Spanish - Garzeta común ("Common Egret") 
Scarce and Local Resident
 - MADRID 2016 TRIP: Seen in Arrocampo. 

Further 
Notes: BirdForum Opus, IUCN Red List
RSPBWikipediaXeno-canto

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