Great Egret

76 cm-1 m; span c. 1.5 m. Tallest egret, with a gaunt, lanky, leaning-forward look. When stretched out, head and neck nearly one and a half times as long as body. For most of year, bill pale to rich yellow, sometimes with dark tip. Note flat crown, yellow facial skin and gape pointing back under eye; blackish legs. Breeding Plumage: bill black; facial skin pea-green; erectile 'aigrette' plumes cascade down over back to beyond tail tip, but none on breast. Some develop plumes and breed while retaining yellow bill; some black-billed birds without plumes are seen. Solitary, small parties; in parts, e.g. floodplains of n. Aust., very large companies in wet season. Usually forages in water, moving with cautious deliberation; freezes motionless for long intervals before making lightning thrust. Occasionally seizes fish from surface in hovering flight. Sustained flight steady with stately wingbeats, neck usually folded; trailing legs extend far beyond tail with 'knee-joint' usually carried beyond tip of tail.