Birds · Side by side
Great Blue Heron vs Great Egret
How to tell them apart
Quick answer
Color settles it almost every time: a great egret is pure white with a yellow bill and black legs, while a great blue heron is gray-blue with a white face and a black stripe over the eye. The only white great blue herons live in south Florida and the Keys, and they are bulkier, with pale yellowish legs instead of black.
Great blue herons and great egrets are the two biggest herons most North Americans ever see, and they often hunt the same marsh edge a few yards apart. They share a genus, the same patient stalk-and-strike hunting style and the same slow, neck-folded flight, but they differ in size, color, range and habits. Since the American Ornithological Society's October 2026 split, the egret of the Americas is officially the American egret, though most birders still call it a great egret.
Key differences
| Trait | Great Blue Heron | Great Egret |
|---|---|---|
| Plumage | Gray-blue body, white face, black stripe over the eye | All white |
| Legs and feet | Dark; pale yellowish in the white Florida form | Black legs and black feet |
| Size | 38–54 in long, about 4.5–5.5 lb | 37–41 in long, about 2 lb |
| Wingspan | About 5.5–6.6 ft | About 4.3–4.8 ft |
| Bill | Heavy, yellowish, daggerlike | Slimmer, yellow to yellow-orange |
| Breeding finery | Black head plumes and shaggy neck plumes | Long lacy back plumes and lime-green facial skin |
| Range | Nationwide; winters far north where water stays open | Most common in the South; north to the Great Lakes and New England in summer |
| Oldest known (USGS) | 24 years 6 months | 22 years 10 months |
Where you will find each
Great blue herons are the generalists: they breed from southeastern Alaska and southern Canada across almost the entire lower 48, and they winter farther north than any other heron, hanging on wherever a dam tailwater or spring creek stays open. Great egrets are birds of the warmer half of the continent, most abundant in the Southeast, along the Gulf Coast and in California, with a breeding range that has been creeping north toward the Great Lakes, southern Ontario and New England. In late summer, egrets wander north after nesting, so a white heron on a northern pond in August is very likely a great egret.
The great white heron problem
In south Florida and especially the Keys, the great blue heron has an all-white form called the great white heron, once treated as its own species and now generally considered a white population of the great blue. It is the one white bird that can fool an egret watcher. It is noticeably bigger and heavier-billed than a great egret, and its legs are pale yellowish rather than black. The same area also has Wurdemann's heron, a blue-gray bird with a white head that looks like a mix of the two forms.
Habits and nesting
Both species hunt by standing still or wading slowly and then striking with a fast jab of the bill, and both eat mostly fish. Great blue herons more often hunt alone and also stalk voles and gophers in fields; great egrets often feed in loose groups with other herons and cormorants and sometimes hunt fields near cattle. Both nest in colonies in tall trees, often in the same rookery, where egrets tend to take the higher nests. Both were shot heavily before federal protection: herons as easy targets, egrets for their plumes.
By the numbers
The traits the daily bird game compares for each.
| Clue | Great Blue Heron | Great Egret |
|---|---|---|
| Group | Herons & egrets | Herons & egrets |
| Colors | Gray, Blue, White | White |
| Habitat | Wetlands | Wetlands |
| Region | Nationwide | Southern |
| Length | 46 in | 39 in |
| Wingspan | 72 in | 54 in |
| Diet | Fish | Fish |
FAQ
Is a great egret just a white great blue heron?
No. They are separate species in the same genus. The white form of the great blue heron, found mainly in south Florida, is larger, with a heavier bill and pale legs, while a great egret has black legs and a slimmer build.
Which is bigger, a great blue heron or a great egret?
The great blue heron. It stands about a foot taller, has a wider wingspan and weighs roughly twice as much, about 4.5 to 5.5 pounds against about 2 pounds for an egret.
Do great blue herons and great egrets nest together?
Often. Both nest in colonies in tall trees near water, and mixed rookeries with herons, egrets, cormorants and other wading birds are common, especially in the South.
What is the American egret?
It is the new official name for the great egret of the Americas. In October 2026 the American Ornithological Society split it from the Old World great white egret, giving the New World bird the scientific name Ardea egretta.
Could you tell them apart from a few clues? Test yourself in today's puzzle.
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