Georgia is home to many large birds. In this article I’ll be going over 7 unique big birds that consider the state of Georgia home.

• Great Egret 
• Snowy Egret 
• Bald Eagle 
• Great Horned Owl 
• Red Tailed Hawk 
• Wood Stork 
• Anhinga

7 Big Birds In Georgia

1. Great Egret (Ardea Alba)

• Size: 80 -100cm
• Weight: 0.7 – 1.5kg
• Wingspan: 130 – 170cm

You’ll be able to spot great egrets in Georgia throughout breeding season. This means they’ll be in the state around the spring and summer months. 

Great egrets are recognised by their extremly long necks, yellow bill, long black legs and mostly white plumage. Both males and females look very similar with the males being generally larger than the females.

Great egrets spend the majority of their time within marshes, ponds, shores and mud flats.

As for what they eat, it includes primarily consume fish along with crustaceans, amphibians, and small mammals. They will also forage around open areas.

Great egrets tend to live for around 15 years in the wild and around 22 years in captivity.

2. Snowy Egret (Egretta Thula)

• Size: 56 – 66cm
• Weight: 350 – 390 grams
• Wingspan: 95 – 105cm

You can spot snowy egrets in southern and central Georgia when breeding and they will often by migrating from the northern region of the state. 

Snowy egrets as their name would suggest are snow white birds with a long neck, black beak, black legs whilst also having a relatively large frame. Besides their sexual organs the only differentiating factors between males and females are that the males are slightly larger.

You’ll find these egrets by mudflats, beaches, and wetlands, but you can also see them forage in wet agricultural fields and along the edges of rivers and lakes. 

Snowy egrets eat a variety of foods from fish, insects, crustaceans which includes crabs, crayfish, frogs, snakes, snails, worms, lizards, rodents and more.

These egrets are known to live for around 5 – 6 years in the wild and upwards of 16 years in captivity.

3. Bald Eagle (Haliaeetus Leucocephalus)

• Size: 90 – 108cm
• Weight: 3 – 6.3kg
• Wingspan: 180 – 250cm

Blad eagles can be found in Georgias south eastern coastline year round as that seems to be an ideal environment for them. 

A bald eagle’s plumage consists of dark brown around its wing and body, with white feathers on its tail and head along with the trademark yellow beak and feet. Both male and female bald eagles look relatively the same.

As for where you can find these eagles, it will often be around lakes and reservoirs with lots of fish and surrounding forests. You’ll often find them around unfrozen lakes and hunting along coastlines, reservoirs, and rivers during the winter months

These eagles are birds of prey meaning they hunt other birds, medium sized mammals like rabbits, hares, other animals like reptiles, fish and even eat carrion when their options are limited. Sometimes bald eagles are recognised as fish eagles as their diet consists of fish and as meat is the only thing they eat these eagles would ultimately be regarded as carnivores too.

Blad eagles can live for around 20 years in the wild.

4. Great Horned Owl (Bubo Vrginianus)

• Size: 57 – 63cm
• Weight: 1.4 – 15kg
• Wingspan: 1.35 – 1.5m

Great horned owls can be found in Georgia year round. 

These large horned owls are recognised by their brown/gray plumage with their defining feature being the tuft of feather on the top of their head resembling a horn or ear like feature. Male and female great horned owls look relatively the same with the females slightly larger in size.

At night these birds will perch on a branch or a tall building to look around for prey and once the desired prey has been found they will fly towards it with folded wings, grab the prey with their talons piercing through their body and in most cases killing  them immediatley.

As for what these birds eat it includes smaller prey like rodents, frogs or scorpions. Even other larger predators like geese, ducks, hawks, and smaller owls can be eaten by these carnivorous birds.

Great horned owls are most commonly found in deserts, wetlands, forests, grasslands, backyards, cities and they can also be found in semi-open habitats between the Arctic and the tropics.

As for a great horned owls lifespan, it can be anywhere from 15 -25 years.

5. Red Tailed Hawk (Buteo Jamaicensis)

• Size: 45 – 60cm
• Weight: 1.25 – 1.47kg
• Wingspan: 100 – 150cm

You’ll be able to spot red tailed hawks in Georgia all throughout the year as it’s a permanent residence of theirs within the states. 

Red tailed hawks are recognised by their brown torso and wings, white breast and red tails. The main difference between the male and females is that the females are a third larger than the males.

These red tailed avians spend their time at a variety of places within the state including deserts, grasslands, forests, agricultural fields and urban areas.

Red tailed hawks are carnivorous birds of prey where they feed on small mammals, rodents, other smaller birds, fish and even carrion.

In the wild red tailed hawks are known to live between 15 – 20 years whilst captive red tails can live on the upper end of that spectrum around 20 years.

6. Wood Stork (Mycteria Americana)

• Size: 83 – 120cm
• Weight: 2.3 – 2.6kg
• Wingspan: 140 – 165cm

You can only Wood storks in central and southern Georgia throughout their non-breeding season. This typically means you’ll spot throughout the fall and winter months. 

Wood storks are recognised by their mostly white plumage, black legs, their black featherless head and a large pointy beak. The only difference between male and female wood storks would be that females are slightly smaller than the males.

You’ll often spot wood storks around fresh and brackish forested wetlands, where they will often forage around wetlands, swamps, ponds, and marshes with water depths of around 10 – 30cm.

As for what they eat, it includes fish, frogs, crayfish, large insects, and occasionally small alligators and mice.

Wood storks are known to live for 11 – 18 years in the wild, whilst the oldest known captive stork hit 27 years and 6 days.

7. Anhinga (Anhinga Anhinga)

• Size: 75 – 95cm
• Weight: 1 – 1.2kg
• Wingspan: 110 – 120cm

Anhingas can be found in southern Georgia when they happen to be breeding, this will generally be in the spring and summer months. 

Anhingas are mostly green in color with a white pattern on their wings and pointy yellow beak. Females look very similar to the males.

These birds can be found around shallow, slow-moving, sheltered waters and tend to use nearby perches and banks for drying and sunning.

As for what they eat, it includes many small- to medium-sized wetland fishes, with very small amounts of crustaceans and invertebrates in the mix too.

Anhingas are known to live for around 12 years in the wild.

Related

If you want to find out about red birds in Georgia Click Here

If you want to find out about yellow birds in Georgia Click Here

If you want to find out about green birds in Georgia Click Here

If you want to find out about purple birds in Georgia Click Here

If you to find our about white birds in Georgia Click Here