Great White Egret (Ardea alba)

OTHER NAMES: Great Egret, Common Egret, Large Egret

Latin Etymology: Ardea ("Heron") alba ("white")

Top: Adult Great White Egret (subspecies A. a. alba) at Summer Leys Reserve. March 2022

Featured Subspecies: Ardea alba alba
Weight: 700-1500g  /  Length: 80-104cm  /  Wingspan: 131-170cm
UK AMBER LIST / IUCN Red List: Least Concern 

Since the time this blog started, the Great White Egret has gone from a rare occassional species to a mainstay of British wetlands being seen regularly at many local sites consistantly throughout the year.  Even beyond that, it is a very widely distributed species globally, found on every continent except Antarctica and found in nearly any habitat where there is non-frozen water for it to feed in, and indeed, is with the possible exception of the feral pigeon the species I have seen in most countries.

Related species:
Order: Pelecaniformes
Family: Ardeidae 
Genus: Ardea 
Subspecies: A. a. alba, A. a. egretta, A. a. melanorhynchos, A. a. modesta

- Sighting Locations -

UNITED KINGDOM - A rare Winter migrant (35 individuals) and regular vagrant.

 - A regular at Pitsford Reservoir in Winter, seen in multiple years.

CAMBODIA - Khmer: កុកគ្រោងធំ  ("Big ?")

A locally common resident.

 - CAMBODIA/SINGAPORE 2019 TRIP: Common at Prek Toal

COSTA RICA

A locally common resident.

 - COSTA RICA 2025 TRIP: Common at Tarcoles

JAPAN -  Japanese - ダイサギ /  Dai-sagi ("Large Heron")

Locally common resident

 - KYOTO/OSAKA 2013 TRIP: A single bird at Kyoto.

SINGAPORE - An locally common resident.

 - CAMBODIA/SINGAPORE 2019 TRIP: Fairly common at Sungei Buloh

SPAIN - Spanish - Garceta grande ("Great Egret")

A fairly common resident in appropriate habitat,

 - MADRID 2016 TRIP: A few birds seen at Arrocampo.

UNITED STATES 
Resident on most of the Coastal areas, winters throughout
 - CALIFORNIA 2022 TRIP: Seen at Berkeley

Further Notes: BirdForum Opus, IUCN Red List, RSPB, Wikipedia, Xeno-canto