Great egret: Where It Lives, Map & Facts

Where the great egret lives – recorded in 158 countries, with quick facts from Wikidata and an introduction from Wikipedia.

Scientific name	Ardea alba
Group	Herons, storks, cranes & flamingos
Status	Least concern (Wikidata, IUCN category label)
Found in	158 countries
Continents	Africa, Asia, Europe, North America, Oceania, South America
Class	Bird
Order	Pelecaniformes
Family	Ardeidae

Where does the great egret live?

Open-licence (CC0 / CC BY) wild records published on GBIF place the great egret in 158 countries and territories across Africa, Asia, Europe, North America, Oceania and South America. Wikidata gives its range as: Nanling Mountains, People's Republic of China, Africa, Brazil, South America, Hefei, Amapá.

Countries with at least a handful of records (a minimum share of the species’ records, to leave out vagrants and escapes). Records with coordinates only; captive and fossil records excluded.

Is the great egret endangered?

The great egret’s conservation status recorded in Wikidata is “Least concern” (an IUCN Red List category label). Source: Wikidata.

What kind of animal is the great egret?

The great egret (Ardea alba) is a bird in the order Pelecaniformes and the family Ardeidae, genus Ardea. (Taxonomy from Wikidata.)

About the great egret

The great egret (Ardea alba), also known as the common egret, large egret, great white egret, or great white heron, is a large, widely distributed egret. The four subspecies occur in Asia, Africa, the Americas, and southern Europe. Recently, it has also been spreading to more northern areas of Europe. Distributed across most of the tropical and warmer temperate regions of the world, it builds tree nests in colonies close to water.

Text in “About” is quoted from the Wikipedia article Great egret (revision 1381438295), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Changes: lead section excerpted verbatim, formatting removed. Quick facts, taxonomy and status: Wikidata Q130730 (CC0). Countries and pin: GBIF.org occurrence records (CC0 / CC BY 4.0).