Species › Birds

Little Egret

Egretta garzetta

Order: Ciconiiformes
Family: Ardeidae
Presence in the Strait: Resident
Abundance: common
Protection in Spain: Special protection (List)
In Spanish: Garceta común

Marine taxonomy: validated in WoRMS, AphiaID 159115

Photograph: Bengt Nyman, CC BY, vía iNaturalist

Length: 55–65 cm
Wingspan: 88–106 cm
Weight: 450 g

Presence in the Strait

Common resident of wetlands.

Identification

Larger than a Cattle Egret, less gregarious; all white plumage with black bill and legs and yellow feet.

Movements

Partial migrant that may reach as far as the Gulf of Guinea. Postbreeding dispersal begins in July; migration peaks in 2nd hf. March and 1st hf. September.

Ring recoveries

Bird ringed in France on 3.09.72 was controlled three days later at Algeciras, 1,188 Km. away.

Bioestrecho editorial text. Last revised: 8 September 2026.

Photographs from iNaturalist observations with the licence checked file by file. Those marked “Strait” were taken within the area; place and date are those of each observation.

Calendar in the Strait

20 %

Peak in September. Observations under CC0 or CC BY licences. The distribution also reflects observation effort.

Where it is seen

Open records from the atlas database, in cells of about 3.6 km. Opacity follows the square root of the count, and also reflects where people observe most.

See on the map

First open record: 18 August 1953
Latest record: 5 March 2026

The oldest and the most recent open observation in the extended area. A recent first observation does not mean the species is new: it means nobody had published it openly before.

Conservation

The catalogues, Andalusian and Spanish, are what binds; the Red Book assesses the Spanish population with IUCN criteria, and the global Red List is the context.

LCNTVUENCR

Andalusian Catalogue: Special protection (List)
Spanish Catalogue: Special protection (List)
Red Book of the Birds of Spain 2021: LC · Least concern · breeding — LC · Least concern · wintering or migrating
Global Red List (IUCN): LC · Least concern

Annex I of the Birds Directive

Andalusian Catalogue: Junta de Andalucía, list of 24 April 2025. Spanish Catalogue: MITECO, table of 30 June 2025. Red Book: SEO/BirdLife, 2021 (Annex I). IUCN: via GBIF, 6 September 2026. Red Book and IUCN categories are assessments; catalogue categories are legal obligations.

Phenology compared

Monthly distribution in proportion, by decade. It shows whether the passage is getting earlier or later.

1990–1999

2000–2009

2010–2026

Proportions, not totals: observation effort grew faster than any population.

Same genus in the Strait

Western Reef Heron55–68 cm · Vagrant · overlapping size
Great Egret80–104 cm · Vagrant

Species of the same genus that also occur here, ordered by how close they are in size. Being relatives does not mean they are confused in the field, but that is where the doubts start: compare size and season.

Classification

Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Aves
Order: Ciconiiformes
Family: Ardeidae
GBIF taxon key: 2480876

Sources

Distribution and calendar: Bioestrecho's own database, ingested from GBIF and OBIS
Photograph: Bengt Nyman, CC BY, vía iNaturalist
Taxonomy: GBIF backbone, pending WoRMS for marine taxa
Editorial text: written by Bioestrecho
Last revised: 8 September 2026

Little Egret

Presence in the Strait

Identification

Movements

Ring recoveries

Gallery