Great Egret
Ardea alba
This Great Egret was photographed at the Gilbert Riparian Preserve, Gilbert, Arizona, 23 Aug. 2009.
These very large, all white herons are found in Arizona, much of North America, South America, Eurasia and Africa as well. They occur wherever shallow water with fish or amphibians is present. Originally these very productive habitats existed along the margins of the rivers that pass through the Sonoran Desert (Colorado, Gila, Salt, San Pedro, Verde, and Santa Cruz Rivers). Today flooded agricultural fields and wastewater reclamation ponds are the most likely places to find these spectacular piscivores. The bill is orange-yellow and the long legs black.