Snowy Egret
Photo: Chuck Homler d/b/a Focus On Wildlife · CC BY-SA 4.0

Herons, Egrets, and Bitterns

Snowy Egret

Egretta thula

LCLeast Concern
Family
Herons, Egrets, and Bitterns (Ardeidae)
Order
Pelecaniformes

Overview

The snowy egret (Egretta thula) is a small white heron. The genus name comes from Provençal French for the little egret, aigrette, which is a diminutive of aigron, 'heron'. The species name thula is the Mapudungun term for the black-necked swan, applied to this species in error by Chilean naturalist Juan Ignacio Molina in 1782.
The snowy egret is the American counterpart to the very similar Old World little egret, which has become established in the Bahamas.

Summary from Wikipedia, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.

Range and habitat

Sources and further reading

Last updated September 29, 2026.