
Photo: Bernard DUPONT from FRANCE · CC BY-SA 2.0 (May be cropped or resized)
Ardea intermedia
Range
Resident breeder in southern and eastern Asia
Size
56–72cm
Wingspan
105–115cm
Weight
About 400g
The medium egret, also called the intermediate egret, is a medium-sized heron that breeds as a resident in southern and eastern Asia. It is intermediate in size between the great egret and the smaller white egrets, though nearer to the little egret: about 56 to 72 cm long with a wingspan of 105 to 115 cm, weighing about 400 g, with all-white plumage (Wikipedia, general species account).
The Asian form has a black bill in breeding plumage, unlike the yellow-billed egret of Africa and the plumed egret of eastern Indonesia, New Guinea and Australia; the split into three species was accepted in 2023 (Wikipedia, general species account).