Little Egret - Subspecies

Subspecies

Depending on authority, two or three subspecies of Little Egret are currently accepted.

• Egretta garzetta garzetta – Europe, Africa, and most of Asia except the southeast
• Egretta garzetta nigripes – Indonesia east to New Guinea
• Egretta garzetta immaculata – Australia and (non-breeding) New Zealand, often considered synonymous with E. g. nigripes

Three other egret taxa have at times been classified as subspecies of the Little Egret in the past but are now regarded as two separate species. These are the Western Reef Heron Egretta gularis which occurs on the coastline of West Africa (Egretta gularis gularis) and from the Red Sea to India (Egretta gularis schistacea), and the Dimorphic Egret Egretta dimorpha, found in East Africa, Madagascar, the Comoros and the Aldabra Islands.