Listen to the great egret
Tip: press play to see the sound's live frequency spectrum in blue over the waveform.
About the great egret
The great egret is a bird in the family Ardeidae (order Pelecaniformes). Its conservation status on the IUCN Red List is “least concern”. Adults have a wingspan of about 144 cm.
What does the great egret sound like?
Birds produce sound with the syrinx, a vocal organ deep in the chest that can make two independent sounds at once. Songs tend to be long and patterned and are used to hold territory and attract a mate; calls are short signals for contact, alarm and flight.
The recordings here are labelled as call. Listen for differences in rhythm, pitch and repetition – the spectrum display makes it easy to see whether a sound is a pure whistle (a thin line), a harsh call (a broad band) or a trill (rapid repeated marks).
From Wikipedia
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 are found 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.
Related birds in the genus Ardea
More from the family Ardeidae
Black-crowned night heron
Nycticorax nycticorax
Eurasian bittern
Botaurus stellaris
Little egret
Egretta garzetta
Little bittern
Botaurus minutus
Striated heron
Butorides striata
Indian pond heron
Ardeola grayii
Agami heron
Agamia agami
American bittern
Botaurus lentiginosus
Green heron
Butorides virescens
Frequently asked questions
What does a great egret sound like?
You can hear 1 recording of the great egret on this page, including its call. Birds produce sound with the syrinx, a vocal organ deep in the chest that can make two independent sounds at once.
Is the great egret endangered?
The IUCN Red List classifies the great egret as “least concern”.
What family does the great egret belong to?
The great egret (Ardea alba) belongs to the family Ardeidae in the order Pelecaniformes.
Sources & credits
- Call · Theodore Wirth Park, Minneapolis, MN by Jonathon Jongsma – CC BY-SA 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons
- Wikidata Q130730 – CC0
- Wikipedia: Great egret – CC BY-SA 4.0
- Photo by Calibas – CC BY-SA 3.0