The Story
This Great Egret (Ardea alba) was at Hacienda El Escobal in Ibagué, Tolima, Colombia when I photographed it. It is not usually a vocal bird, but it gives a low, hoarse croak when disturbed. It weighs around 1,000 grams on average. Apart from its size, its yellow bill and black legs and feet set it apart from other white egrets. In breeding plumage it carries delicate ornamental feathers on its back. Cortolima lists El Escobal, on the Meseta de Ibagué, among the city’s 13 priority birding routes. Hacienda El Escobal is part of the Picaleña lagoon complex, and by eBird’s December 2021 data 309 bird species had been reported there.
I made this frame with a Pentax K-1 and the HD Pentax-D FA 150-450mm f/4.5-5.6, at 1/1000 sec, f/5.6, ISO 200. IUCN lists the Great Egret as Least Concern, with a stable population.
©2019 Adam Rainoff Photographer
The bird
The Great Egret (Ardea alba) belongs to the family Ardeidae (Herons, Egrets, and Bitterns) in the eBird/Clements taxonomy.
Source: eBird.org (opens in a new tab)
Conservation
Least Concern on the IUCN Red List (assessment published 2025), with the population trend listed as stable. Source: IUCN Red List