BirdBrain Academy

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Great Egret sounds

Ardea alba

The Great Egret is a large, widely distributed white egret found across warm regions worldwide, nesting in colonies close to water.

Learn bird sounds freeMore Great Egret recordings
Great Egret
Photo: Chuck Homler (FocusOnWildlife.Me), CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Listen to the Great Egret

Each recording below is a short excerpt with its spectrogram, a picture of the sound. Time runs left to right and higher pitches sit higher up. Play each one, then look for the same shape in the next. Different recordings of the same bird help you learn the bird, not one clip.

Alarm Call, Flight Call · recording 1 Spectrogram of a Great Egret alarm call, flight call: time runs left to right and pitch rises upward

Recorded by Sonothèque ADVL, Saint-Jean-le-Thomas, Manche, Normandie, 2022-01-28. XC705918 on xeno-canto, CC0 1.0. Five-second excerpt.

Call · recording 2 Spectrogram of a Great Egret call: time runs left to right and pitch rises upward

Recorded by Jonathon Jongsma, Theodore Wirth Park, Minneapolis, Hennepin, Minnesota, 2013-04-27. XC131650 on xeno-canto, CC BY-SA 3.0. Five-second excerpt.

Flight Call · recording 3 Spectrogram of a Great Egret flight call: time runs left to right and pitch rises upward

Recorded by Sonothèque ADVL, Carolles, Manche, Normandie, 2021-10-18. XC705917 on xeno-canto, CC0 1.0. Five-second excerpt.

What to listen for

The Great Egret is not normally vocal, but gives a low, hoarse croak when disturbed. At breeding colonies, it often gives loud croaking calls and higher-pitched squawks.

Many listeners write its call as “cuk cuk cuk”. Treat a written sound as a memory aid; individual birds and regions vary.

What it looks like

The Great Egret is a large heron with all-white plumage, standing up to 1 m tall, with a long wingspan. It has a yellow bill and black legs and feet, with delicate ornamental back feathers in breeding plumage.

Where to find it

The Great Egret occurs worldwide in temperate and tropical habitats, especially near wetlands and water. It breeds in tree colonies close to large lakes with reed beds or other extensive wetlands, and forages in shallow water or drier habitats.

BirdBrain regions that include this bird

  • Amazon Basin
  • Andean Region
  • Australia
  • California
  • Caribbean
  • Central Africa
  • Central America
  • Central Russia
  • East Asia
  • Eastern Africa
  • Eastern Canada
  • Eastern Europe
  • Eastern South America
  • Florida
  • Great Lakes
  • Indonesia
  • Madagascar
  • Mexico
  • Mid-Atlantic
  • Middle East
  • New England
  • Northern Europe
  • Northern South America
  • Northwest
  • Philippines
  • Plains
  • Polynesia
  • Rocky Mountains
  • South Asia
  • Southeast
  • Southeast Asia Mainland
  • Southern Africa
  • Southern Europe
  • Southern South America
  • Southwest
  • Texas
  • Western Africa
  • Western Canada
  • Western Europe
  • Western Russia

Did you know?

  • Its slow flight with the neck retracted is characteristic of herons and bitterns.
  • Males and females look identical, while juveniles resemble nonbreeding adults.
  • Both parents feed the young by regurgitation, and the young can fly within 6–7 weeks.

Learn the Great Egret by ear

BirdBrain Academy teaches bird sounds with side-by-side listening and quizzes that use different recordings, so you learn the bird rather than one clip. Start with six free lessons, no signup needed. On your phone, Sound ID can name the birds singing around you.

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Related birds

Species notes are adapted from Wikipedia, available under CC BY-SA 4.0, and checked for BirdBrain. Recordings come from xeno-canto under the licenses shown with each one. Photo: Chuck Homler (FocusOnWildlife.Me), CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons. Identification guidance is educational; birds vary, so confirm unusual sightings with local experts or eBird.