Status in UK:
(A) Resident Breeder, Passage Visitor
Subspecies:garzetta recorded in Britain (of 2 subsp. in the world)
.
Length:
60 cm
Wingspan:
92 cm
Weight:
M/F: 450 g
Scientific name from:
French: aigrette=egret
and Italian: garzetta=a little white heron
World Distribution:
local throughout s,c Europe, Asia Australasia and Africa
Habitat:
Lakes, marsh, flooded fields & estuary
Diet:
Mostly small fish, amphibians, large insects, but wide variety of animals
TitBit:
The elegant neck plumes of an egret in breeding plumage were once more valuable than gold, smuggled into Europe they fetched £15 an ounce or 28g (about £875 at 2000 prices), each Little Egret producing about 1g of plumes
Population and Distribution
Population Trend:
No population trend available
Distribution:
No distribution maps available
British Population Size:
Summer:
146 to 162 pairs
in 2002
Winter:
800 to 900 indviduals
in 2000
First Record:
1826
First Breeding Record:
Dorset 1995
Habitat Occupancy (in the Breeding Season):
No habitat data from BBS
European Population Size:
Summer:
61 to 84 thousand pairs
Population Assesment from Birds in Europe
Distribution in Europe
Listed on the Appendices/Schedules of:
WBD(I), Bern(III)
Survey Results:
BirdTrack
Wetland Bird Survey Alerts
Breeding and Survival
Egg Size:
46 x 34 mm
Egg Weight:
28.0 g (of which 7 % is shell)
Number of Nest Records:
3
Clutch Size:
4 - 5 eggs
Incubation:
21 - 22 days
by the:
Male + Female
Fledging:
40 - 45 days
as:
Altricial, downy
First Clutches Laid:
Unavailable
Number of Broods:
1
Number Ringed:
3
Adult Survival:
0.712
Juvenile Survival:
0.32 (in First-Year)
Age at First Breeding:
2
years
Typical Lifespan:
5
years
Maximum Recorded Age:
2yr1m
(France: 22yr 4m)
Biometrics
Ring Size:
G*
Wing Length
Adult:
Insufficient Data.
Juvenile:
Insufficient Data.
Male:
Insufficient Data
Female:
Insufficient Data
Weight
Adult:
Insufficient Data.
Juvenile:
Insufficient Data.
Male:
Insufficient Data
Female:
Insufficient Data
Other Names
Gaelic:
Corra-gheal-bheag
Welsh:
Crëyr bach
Danish:
Silkehejre
Dutch:
Kleine zilverreiger
Finnish:
Silkkihaikara
French:
Aigrette garzette
German:
Seidenreiher
Hungarian:
Kis kócsag
Icelandic:
Bjarthegri
Irish:
Éigrit Bheag
Italian:
Garzetta
Norwegian:
Silkehegre
Polish:
Czapla nadobna
Portuguese:
Garça-branca-pequena
Spanish:
Garceta común
Swedish:
Silkeshäger
For More Information...
Books and Monographs:
Voisin, C. 1991 The herons of Europe Poyser, London
[598.461 VOI]
Hafner, H. et al. 2002 BWP Update 4:1-20
Kushlan, J.A. & Hancock, J. 2005 The Herons Oxford University Press
[598.461 KUS]
See Also:
Wikipedia entry
State of the Nations Birds by Chris Mead
Recent sightings and information from BirdGuides.com
These data should be cited as: Robinson, R.A. (2005) BirdFacts: profiles of birds occurring in Britain & Ireland (v1.22, Oct 2008). BTO Research Report 407, BTO, Thetford (http://www.bto.org/birdfacts)
button; for sources point at the 
button
Other Names
