What is the difference between a heron and an egret?
Herons and Egrets are in the same family and look similar, so what is the difference? The name Egret comes from the French ‘aigrette’ meaning the plume feathers of the six species of white Egrets. These are a special breeding plumage only occurring through part of the year. For many years they were popular in the fashion trade. Egrets were the Herons from which ‘aigrettes’ were obtained so causing the death of many birds. The term has since lost its original meaning and is now used to describe various members of the Heron family which do not have these plumes and which are not white.
