Subject: Great Egret, Ardea alba

Location: Chincoteague National Wildlife Refuge, Virginia

Stock Number: 6416

Comment: Once known in many areas as the Great White Heron, this bird’s official common name is now Great Egret, which helps set it apart from the Great Blue Heron, another member of the same genus.

Once hunted nearly to the brink of extinction for its plumes, the Great Egret has stabilized its numbers, but still faces threats from the destruction of habitat suitable for feeding and breeding.