Skip to Content
Abert’s Towhee Acadian Flycatcher Acorn Woodpecker Alder Flycatcher Allen’s Hummingbird Altamira Oriole American Avocet American Bittern American Black Duck American Coot American Crow American Dipper American Golden-Plover American Goldfinch American Kestrel American Oystercatcher American Pipit American Redstart American Robin American Three-toed Woodpecker American Tree Sparrows American White Pelican American Wigeon American Woodcock Anhinga Anna’s Hummingbird Arctic Tern Arizona Woodpecker Ash-Throated Flycatcher Atlantic Puffin Audubon’s Oriole Bachman’s Sparrow Baird’s Sandpiper Baird’s Sparrow Bald Eagle Baltimore Oriole Band-tailed Pigeon Bank Swallow Barn Owl Barn Swallow Barred Owl Barrow’s Goldeneye Bay-breasted Warbler Bell’s Vireo Belted Kingfisher Bendire’s Thrasher Bewick’s Wren Black Guillemot Black Oystercatcher Black Phoebe Black Rail Black Rosy-Finch Black Scoter Black Skimmer Black Swift Black Tern Black Turnstone Black Vulture Black-and-white Warbler Black-backed Woodpecker Black-bellied Plover Black-bellied Whistling-Duck Black-billed Cuckoo Black-billed Magpie Black-capped Chickadee Black-capped Vireo Black-chinned Hummingbird Black-chinned Sparrow Black-crested Titmouse Black-crowned Night-Heron Black-footed Albatross Black-headed Grosbeak Black-legged Kittiwake Black-necked Stilt Black-throated Blue Warbler Black-throated Gray Warbler Black-throated Green Warbler Black-throated Sparrow Blackburnian Warbler Blackpoll Warbler Blue Grosbeak Blue Jay Blue-footed Booby Blue-gray Gnatcatcher Blue-headed Vireo Blue-throated Hummingbird Blue-winged Teal Blue-winged Warbler Boat-tailed Grackle Bobolink Bohemian Waxwing Bonaparte’s Gull Boreal Chickadee Boreal Owl Botteri’s Sparrow Brandt’s Cormorant Brant Brewer’s Blackbird Brewer’s Sparrow Bridled Titmouse Broad-billed Hummingbird Broad-tailed Hummingbird Broad-winged Hawk Bronzed Cowbird Brown Booby Brown Creeper Brown Pelican Brown Thrasher Brown-capped Rosy-Finch Brown-headed Cowbird Brown-headed Nuthatch Buff-bellied Hummingbird Buff-breasted Flycatcher Buff-breasted Sandpiper Bufflehead Bullock’s Oriole Burrowing Owl Bushtit Cackling Goose Cactus Wren California Condor California Gull California Quail California Thrasher California Towhee Calliope Hummingbird Canada Goose Canada Jay (Previously Gray Jay) Canada Warbler Canvasback Canyon Towhee Canyon Wren Cape May Warbler Carolina Chickadee Carolina Wren Caspian Tern Cassin’s Auklet Cassin’s Finch Cassin’s Kingbird Cassin’s Sparrow Cassin’s Vireo Cattle Egret Cave Swallow Cedar Waxwing Cerulean Warbler Chestnut-backed Chickadee Chestnut-collared Longspur Chestnut-sided Warbler Chihuahuan Raven Chimney Swift Chipping Sparrow Chuck-will’s-widow Chukar Cinnamon Teal Clapper Rail Clark’s Grebe Clark’s Nutcracker Clay-colored Sparrow Cliff Swallow Colima Warbler Common Eider Common Gallinule Common Goldeneye Common Grackle Common Ground-Dove Common Loon Common Merganser Common Murre Common Nighthawk Common Pauraque Common Poorwill Common Raven Common Redpoll Common Tern Common Yellowthroat Connecticut Warbler Cooper’s Hawk Cordilleran Flycatcher Costa’s Hummingbird Couch’s Kingbird Crescent-chested Warbler Crested Caracara Crissal Thrasher Curve-billed Thrasher Dark-eyed Junco Dickcissel Double-crested Cormorant Dovekie Downy Woodpecker Dunlin Dusky Flycatcher Dusky Grouse Eared Grebe Eastern Bluebird Eastern Kingbird Eastern Meadowlark Eastern Phoebe Eastern Screech-Owl Eastern Towhee Eastern Whip-poor-will Eastern Wood-Pewee Elegant Tern Elf Owl Emperor Goose Eurasian Collared-Dove Eurasian Tree Sparrow Eurasian Wigeon European Starling Evening Grosbeak Ferruginous Hawk Field Sparrow Fish Crow Flammulated Owl Florida Scrub-Jay Forster’s Tern Fox Sparrow Franklin’s Gull Fulvous Whistling-Duck Gadwall Gambel’s Quail Gila Woodpecker Gilded Flicker Glaucous Gull Glaucous-winged Gull Glossy Ibis Golden Eagle Golden-cheeked Warbler Golden-crowned Kinglet Golden-crowned Sparrow Golden-crowned Warbler Golden-fronted Woodpecker Golden-winged Warbler Grace’s Warbler Grasshopper Sparrow Gray Catbird Gray Flycatcher Gray Kingbird Gray Partridge Gray Vireo Gray-cheeked Thrush Gray-crowned Rosy-Finch Great Black-backed Gull Great Blue Heron Great Cormorant Great Crested Flycatcher Great Egret Great Gray Owl Great Horned Owl Great Kiskadee Great-tailed Grackle Greater Pewee Greater Prairie-Chicken Greater Roadrunner Greater Sage-Grouse Greater Scaup Greater White-fronted Goose Greater Yellowlegs Green Heron Green Jay Green-tailed-towhee Green-winged Teal Groove-billed Ani Gull-billed Tern Gunnison Sage-Grouse Gyrfalcon Hairy Woodpecker Hammond’s Flycatcher Harlequin Duck Harris’s Hawk Harris’s Sparrow Heermann’s Gull Henslow’s Sparrow Hepatic Tanager Hermit Thrush Hermit Warbler Herring Gull Hoary Redpoll Hooded Merganser Hooded Oriole Hooded Warbler Horned Grebe Horned Lark Horned Puffin House Finch House Sparrow House Wren Hudsonian Godwit Hutton’s Vireo Inca Dove Indigo Bunting Ivory-billed Woodpecker Juniper Titmouse Kentucky Warbler Killdeer King Eider King Rail Kirtland’s Warbler Ladder-backed Woodpecker Lapland Longspur Lark Bunting Lark Sparrow Laughing Gull Lawrence’s Goldfinch Lazuli Bunting Le Conte’s Sparrow Le Conte’s Thrasher Least Bittern Least Flycatcher Least Grebe Least Sandpiper Least Tern Lesser Black-backed Gull Lesser Goldfinch Lesser Prairie-Chicken Lesser Scaup Lesser Yellowlegs Lewis’s Woodpecker Limpkin Lincoln’s Sparrow Little Blue Heron Loggerhead Shrike Long-billed Curlew Long-billed Dowitcher Long-eared Owl Long-tailed Duck Louisiana Waterthrush Lucifer Hummingbird Lucy’s Warbler MacGillivray’s Warbler Magnificent Frigatebird Magnificent Hummingbird Magnolia Warbler Mallard Mangrove Cuckoo Marbled Godwit Marsh Wren Masked Duck McCown’s Longspur Merlin Mew Gull Mexican Jay Mississippi Kite Montezuma Quail Mottled Duck Mountain Bluebird Mountain Chickadee Mountain Plover Mountain Quail Mourning Dove Mourning Warbler Mute Swan Nashville Warbler Neotropic Cormorant Northern Bobwhite Northern Cardinal Northern Flicker Northern Fulmar Northern Gannet Northern Goshawk Northern Harrier Northern Hawk Owl Northern Mockingbird Northern Parula Northern Pintail Northern Rough-winged Swallow Northern Saw-whet Owl Northern Shoveler Northern Shrike Northern Waterthrush Northwestern Crow Nuttall’s Woodpecker Oak Titmouse Olive-sided Flycatcher Orange-crowned Warbler Orchard Oriole Osprey Ovenbird Pacific Golden-Plover Pacific Loon Pacific-slope Flycatcher Painted Bunting Painted Redstart Palm Warbler Pectoral Sandpiper Pelagic Cormorant Peregrine Falcon Phainopepla Philadelphia Vireo Pied-billed Grebe Pigeon Guillemot Pileated Woodpecker Pine Grosbeak Pine Siskin Pine Warbler Pinyon Jay Piping Plover Plain Chachalaca Plumbeous Vireo Prairie Falcon Prairie Warbler Prothonotary Warbler Purple Finch Purple Gallinule Purple Martin Purple Sandpiper Pygmy Nuthatch Pyrrhuloxia Razorbill Red Crossbill Red Knot Red Phalarope Red-bellied Woodpecker Red-breasted Merganser Red-breasted Nuthatch Red-breasted Sapsucker Red-cockaded Woodpecker Red-eyed Vireo Red-faced Warbler Red-headed Woodpecker Red-naped Sapsucker Red-necked Grebe Red-necked Phalarope Red-shouldered Hawk Red-tailed Hawk Red-throated Loon Red-winged Blackbird Reddish Egret Redhead Ring-billed Gull Ring-necked Duck Ring-necked Pheasant Rock Pigeon Rock Ptarmigan Rock Sandpiper Rose-breasted Grosbeak Roseate Spoonbill Roseate Tern Ross’s Goose Rough-legged Hawk Royal Tern Ruby-crowned Kinglet Ruby-throated Hummingbird Ruddy Duck Ruddy Turnstone Ruffed Grouse Rufous Hummingbird Rufous-capped Warbler Rufous-winged Sparrow Rusty Blackbird Sabine’s Gull Sage Sparrow Sage Thrasher Saltmarsh Sharp-tailed Sparrow Sanderling Sandhill Crane Sandwich Tern Savannah Sparrow Say’s Phoebe Scaled Quail Scarlet Tanager Scissor-tailed Flycatcher Scott’s Oriole Seaside Sparrow Sedge Wren Semipalmated Plover Semipalmated Sandpiper Sharp-shinned Hawk Sharp-tailed Grouse Short-billed Dowitcher Short-eared Owl Slate-throated Redstart Smith’s Longspur Smooth-billed Ani Snail Kite Snow Bunting Snow Goose Snowy Egret Snowy Plover Solitary Sandpiper Song Sparrow Sooty Grouse Sora Spotted Owl Spotted Sandpiper Spotted Towhee Sprague’s Pipit Spruce Grouse Steller’s Jay Stilt Sandpiper Summer Tanager Surf Scoter Surfbird Swainson’s Hawk Swainson’s Thrush Swainson’s Warbler Swallow-tailed Kite Swamp Sparrow Tennessee Warbler Thick-billed Murre Townsend’s Solitaire Townsend’s Warbler Tree Swallow Tricolored Heron Tropical Kingbird Trumpeter Swan Tufted Puffin Tufted Titmouse Tundra Swan Turkey Vulture Upland Sandpiper Varied Bunting Varied Thrush Vaux’s Swift Veery Verdin Vermilion Flycatcher Vesper Sparrow Violet-green Swallow Virginia Rail Virginia’s Warbler Warbling Vireo Western Bluebird Western Grebe Western Gull Western Kingbird Western Sandpiper Western Screech-Owl Western Tanager Western Wood-Pewee Western-Meadowlark Whimbrel White Ibis White-breasted Nuthatch White-crowned Pigeon White-crowned Sparrow White-eyed Vireo White-faced Ibis White-headed Woodpecker White-rumped Sandpiper White-tailed Hawk White-tailed Kite White-tailed Ptarmigan White-throated Sparrow White-throated Swift White-tipped Dove White-winged Crossbill White-winged Dove White-winged Scoter Whooping Crane Wild Turkey Willet Williamson’s Sapsucker Willow Flycatcher Willow Ptarmigan Wilson’s Phalarope Wilson’s Plover Wilson’s Snipe Wilson’s Warbler Winter Wren Wood Duck Wood Stork Wood Thrush Woodhouse’s Scrub-Jay Worm-eating Warbler Wrentit Yellow Rail Yellow Warbler Yellow-bellied Flycatcher Yellow-bellied Sapsucker Yellow-billed Cuckoo Yellow-billed Magpie Yellow-breasted Chat Yellow-crowned Night-Heron Yellow-headed Blackbird Yellow-rumped Warbler Yellow-throated Vireo Yellow-throated Warbler Zone-tailed Hawk

Regularly Occurring Egrets of the United States 

Cattle Egret in breeding plumage

The United States is home to several species of egrets, which are wading birds found in wetland habitats. In this writing, we will discover one of the most common egret species found in the United States:

All of these egret species are protected under the Migratory Bird Treaty Act and are important indicators of the health of wetland ecosystems in the US.

It this guide, we will show you Cattle Egret, Great Egret, Reddish Egret, and Snowy Egret. 

Cattle Egret

Height 20 inches

Cattle Egrets are somewhat stocky and are often seen in fields as they search for insects. They do not have the same affinity for being near water as do other egrets.

Cattle Egret in breeding plumage

Breeding plumage: Shows variable rusty color on head, neck and back. In non-breeding plumage bill is yellow and the legs somewhat greenish. The black spot on the bill in this picture is actually a bug in a precarious location. Photograph © Sam Crowe

 

Cattle Egret in high breeding plumge

At the peak of the breeding season bill can become red-orange and legs red.  The peak of breeding plumage is sometimes referred to as the “high breeding plumage.” Photo © Sam Crowe

 

Adult in spring plumage.  Not the color of the legs.  Muddy legs or movement into and out of high-breeding plumage can cause confusion on leg color. Photo © Greg Lavaty

 

Cattle Egrets

Cattle Egrets are often seen flying in small flocks. Photograph © Greg Lavaty.

 

Cattle Egret

Juvenile Cattle Egrets have a black bill which gradually turns yellow in late summer. Photograph ® Sam Crowe

 

Cattle Egret

Juvenile Cattle Egret with dark legs. Legs are yellowish in adults. Photograph ® Greg Lavaty

 

Great Egret

Height 39 inches

Great Egrets are the second largest of our native egret and herons. It is a common species found in wetlands and coastal areas throughout much of the world, including North America, South America, Europe, Africa, Asia, and Australia.

Great Egret Courtship

Adults exhibiting courtship behavior. Photograph © Sam Crowe.

 

Great Egrets in breeding plumage

Long, flowing plumes are present during the breeding season, absent most of the year. Photograph © Sam Crowe.

 

Great Egrets feeding young

Great Egret feeding young.

Infant aggression is common among Great Egrets and other egret species. To obtain the most food, older chicks will often peck and pester a younger, smaller chick to death. The third-born chick in a group of three Great Egret chicks is often killed by its siblings. The parents do not interfere.

Great Egret

Great Egret’s bill is usually yellow. Photograph © Sam Crowe

The bill is usually yellow. During breeding season the area in front of the eye turns greenish and the bill can have a dark edge on the top.

Great Egret

Great Heron. Photograph © Sam Crowe

Great Egret with the typical yellow bill and lack of plumes.

Flying Great Egret

Flyin Great Heron (Look at the shape). Photograph ©Alan Wilson.

Egrets fly with the neck pulled in next to the body.  Cranes fly with the neck extended.

Great Egret

Great Egret showing long black legs. Photograph © Greg Lavaty.

Great Egret showing long black legs. Greenish color in front of the eye present duing breeding season.

Reddish Egret

Height 30 inches

Reddish Egrets have two color morphs, the dark morph from which its name is derived, and a white morph. Reddish Egrets are found along the Gulf coast and coast of Florida. Almost always seen in or near salt or brackish water. It prefers shallow waters with sandy or muddy bottoms, where it can forage for prey.

Their bill in bicolored.

Their populations declined in the 19th and early 20th centuries due to hunting and habitat loss, but have since rebounded.

Reddish egret

Adult dark-morph Reddish Egret. Note pink bill with black tip. Photograph © Sam Crowe

 

Reddish Egret

Reddish Egret showing bi-colored bill. Photograph © Greg Lavaty

 

Reddish Egret showing bi-colored bill.

Reddish Egret with Willet in the background.

 

Reddish Egret White morph

Photograph © Greg Lavaty

This white morph Reddish Egret shows the typical two-tone bill, although the upper bill has not quite turned as pink on the lower 2/3rds of the bill. Perhaps indicating a young bird just before obtaining fill adult characteristics. The trailing bird with the yellow “slippers” is the smaller Snowy Egret.

Juvenile Reddisg Egret

Juvenile Reddish Egrets in  light phase has a dark bill (Yes, it is white!). Photograph © Greg Lavaty

Juvenile Reddish Egrets in  light phase has a dark bill.  Dark phase Reddish Egret is similar to adult but grayer overall. The Great Egret is similar is size but has a yellowish bill.

Adult dark-morph Reddish Egret. Note pink bill with black tip. Photograph © Sam Crowe

Dark phase juvenile Reddish Egret. © Greg Lavaty

 

Reddish Egret

Juvenile white-morph Reddish Egret. Photograph © Greg Lavaty

 

Adult dark-morph Reddish Egret. Note pink bill with black tip. Photograph © Sam Crowe

Reddish Egrets will use a shading technique to help see or startle food items. © Greg Lavaty.

 

Snowy Egret

Height 24 inches

Snowy Egrets are small water birds with a delicate look.  They are about 24 inches in length with a wingspan of about 36 inches and weigh around 10.5 ounces. They have striking white plumage with black legs, black bill, and distinctive bright yellow feet. During breeding season, they develop long, wispy feathers on their head and back, which give them an even more graceful appearance.

Snowy Egrets are commonly found in wetlands, marshes, and coastal areas throughout the Americas, where they forage for fish, crustaceans, and other small aquatic prey by stalking and darting their heads into the water.

Let’s look closer:

Snowy Egret

Snowy Egret © Sam Crowe

A typical Snowy Egret with thin, black bill, yellow in front of the eye and yellow feet. Plumes on the head may be reduced or not visible. © Sam Crowe

A typical Snowy Egret with thin, black bill, yellow in front of the eye and yellow feet. Pllumes on the head may be reudced or not visible. © Sam Crowe

© Sam Crowe

In high breeding plumage the base of the bill becomes red and the feet become orange.

A typical Snowy Egret with thin, black bill, yellow in front of the eye and yellow feet. Pllumes on the head may be reudced or not visible. © Sam Crowe

© Sam Crowe

A typical Snowy Egret with thin, black bill, yellow in front of the eye and yellow feet. Pllumes on the head may be reudced or not visible.

Snowy Egrets nest in trees, often in mixed colonies with other egret species.

Snowy Egrets
The nest is a substantial collection of sticks that would seem to offer little comfort to babies.

Snowy Egret

Photograph © Greg Lavaty

The yellow feet are often very obvious when the bird is in flight.  Notice the yellow lores, the yellow area in front of the eye.

Snowy Egret

© Steve Wolfe Snowy Egret on approach.

I hope it helped you to identify some of the most popular Herons in United States.

About the Author

Sam Crowe

Sam is the founder of Birdzilla.com. He has been birding for over 30 years and has a world list of over 2000 species. He has served as treasurer of the Texas Ornithological Society, Sanctuary Chair of Dallas Audubon, Editor of the Cornell Lab of Ornithology's "All About Birds" web site and as a contributing editor for Birding Business magazine. Many of his photographs and videos can be found on the site.

Let others know your thoughts or ask an expert

Would you like to get new articles of birds (Once a month?)

No SPAM! We might only send you fresh updates once a month

Thank you for subscribing!

No thanks! I prefer to follow BirdZilla on Facebook