What is the difference between Heron and Egret?

Some may become confused with the egrets and herons when they first see these birds but they have some differences that you ought to know. The egret is known to be smaller as compared to the heron. Another known difference is the color of their legs. Egrets come with black legs while the heron will have lighter-colored legs.

Herons are known to have slightly heavier beaks as compared to the Egrets. Aside from these obvious differences, they also have some similarities such as the fact that they are both fresh-water and coastal birds. They also belong to the same family of birds which is not a surprise given their many similarities to each other.

Egrets and herons are known to be long-legged birds that live in freshwaters, the reasons why many people are confused to determine which bird is which when they see one. One of their distinct differences is their color. Egrets have mainly white feathers which may or may not have decorative plumes while herons are usually brown, cream or black which has a black, blue or gray plumes.

They are very hard to distinguish from afar as they live near the waters in search of their food (which are small fishes, mollusks, and insects. They also live with their colonies and seldom wandering alone. So it is better to have a closer look of them to see their feathers and plumes to distinguish whether the colony you are looking at is egrets or herons.