Little Egret

This lovely wading bird is completely white with a long black beak, which is a little blue-grey at the base, and with large yellow toes at the end of its long thin legs. It is therefore easy to recognize.

The Little Egret almost disappeared from its Mediterranean habitat because of the fashion for beautiful feathers on hats.

That fashion has passed, and some effective protection measures have allowed its revival : it has recently been recorded, nesting in Ireland ! But it doesn’t like the cold and migrates to Africa in the winter.

It is a bird which needs an aquatic environment because it feeds on little creatures living in water, but it also eats insects : it is therefore fond of wetlands and as these are the subject of major habitat protection measures at world level, the Little Egret is no longer threatened.

It nests in colonies in trees close to bodies of water.