Great Egrets – Those magnificent large white birds that you will see all over the place at Disney World are Great Egrets, one of the most common and most confusing large water birds you can see at the Most Magical Place on Earth. Make no mistake, when you go to Disney World you will see Great Egrets. They are present in and around almost all bodies of water at Disney World, particularly Bay Lake and the Seven Seas Lagoon and the water ways near Saratoga Springs and Old Key West Resorts and Disney Springs. Great Egrets are also present in theme parks and can be seen mixing with the animals on the Kilimanjaro Safari at Animal Kingdom and trying to steal your French Fries at the Liberty Square Market Place in the Magic Kingdom.

Great Egrets are large and beautiful members of the Heron family with white plumage and standing at over three feet tall with a wingspan of over four feet. Where confusion sets in is over the misconception that Great Egrets are Great White Herons. While Great Egrets are part of the Heron family, they are not Great White Herons which are distinct variant of the Heron family. Currently, sources disagree over whether or not the Great White Heron is a subspecies of the Great Blue Heron or a genetically distinct Heron in its own right.

Regardless, while Great Egrets and Great Blue Herons are common at Disney World and elsewhere in North America, Great White Herons are rare and are sighted almost exclusively in South Florida in and around the Everglades. The easiest way to know you are seeing a Great Egret vs. a Great White Heron is the legs. Great Egrets have black legs and Great White Herons have yellowish legs. In May 2022 during a trip to Everglades National Park we were lucky to spot examples of both birds in close proximity and differences in leg coloration were visible.

So just remember, that beautiful large white bird you see sitting on the boat of your hotel or wading along the shore of the Seven Seas Lagoon is a Great Egret, not a Great White Heron and if you are not sure, just look at its legs.