Snowy Egret
Egretta thula
- KingdomAnimalia (Animals)
- PhylumChordata (Cordats)
- ClassAves (Aus)
- OrderPelecaniformes (Pelicaniformes)
- FamilyArdeidae (Herons, Egrets, and Bitterns)
- GenusEgretta (Small Egrets and Herons)
- SpeciesEgretta thula (Snowy Egret)
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. At one time, the plumes of the snowy egret were in great demand as decorations for women's hats. They were hunted for these plumes and this reduced the population of the species to dangerously low levels. Wikipedia →
40–50% of wildlife watchers report a Snowy Egret sighting in Channel Islands National Park, based on 3,022 days of visitor records from GBIF citizen-science data.
Closest Relatives at Channel Islands National Park
Reddish Egret
Egretta rufescens
Tricolored Heron
Egretta tricolor
Great Blue Heron
Ardea herodias
Black-crowned Night Heron
Nycticorax nycticorax
Great Egret
Ardea alba
Yellow-crowned Night-Heron
Nyctanassa violacea
Green Heron
Butorides virescens
Cattle Egret
Bubulcus ibis
American Bittern
Botaurus lentiginosus
Brown Pelican
Pelecanus occidentalis
American White Pelican
Pelecanus erythrorhynchos
White-faced Ibis
Plegadis chihi
📅 Monthly Probability
☀️ When They're Spotted
Most active during daytime hours (6am–6pm) · across all parks (global)
Global Distribution
Where this species is recorded worldwide. Restricted to human observations from 2019 onwards — the same kind of record and the same period the probabilities on this page are built from, so collar-tracking studies, camera-trap arrays and museum specimens are excluded. Around Santa Rosa that removes 5,924 GPS fixes from a handful of tagged jaguars.
where this species is recorded (GBIF density — it tracks where observers go, not how likely a sighting is) · parks where it occurs — tap a pin for the sighting probability there
Parks Where Found
Quick answers
What are the chances of seeing a Snowy Egret in Channel Islands National Park?
About 43% of wildlife watchers report a Snowy Egret sighting in Channel Islands National Park, based on 3,022 days of visitor records from GBIF citizen-science data.
When is the best time to see Snowy Egret in Channel Islands National Park?
July has the highest sighting rate for Snowy Egret in Channel Islands National Park in our monthly data.