The photo above was made by Greg peterson on Aruba in 2006, below is a picture of a Great egret with mud on its bill, made by Steven Wytema along the coast of Suriname. The common egret is a tall, totally white heron (almost a meter in length), that hunts for food (mostly fish) in groups as well as solitaryly. It is not as numerous as the snowy egret, but big groups can be encountered along the coast. They prefer flooded fields and swamps. In the interior they hunt alone along rivers. They nest in colonies in trees, with many nests in one tree. A hundred years ago they were hunted for their beautiful ornamental feathers, the ones that show on the last two pictures below, made by J.H. Ribot in the zoo of Emmen in 1997.
Each small square indicates the observation of at least 1 (group) of these birds, the medium ones at least 4 observations and the largest ones 10 or more. Most observations of this very common egret are made in the coastal region of Suriname (blue). Biggest group: 1200 along the road from Coronie to Nickerie (1984, Ribot).
| Distribution in Suriname (explanation) | |
| Coastal area |  |
| Savanna |  |
| Forests | |
| Mountain forests |  |
| Sipalawini savanna | |
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More photos of herons and other waterbirds in Suriname
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