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Great Egret Was Photographed Catching and Eating a Bananaquit in the Dominican Republic

Great egret holding a bananaquit in its bill at Hatillo Reservoir
Research · Behaviour

A great egret (Ardea alba) was photographically documented catching and eating a bananaquit (Coereba flaveola) at Hatillo Reservoir in the Dominican Republic. The research note, published on 18 June 2026 in the Journal of Caribbean Ornithology, describes the first documented successful predation of a bananaquit by a great egret.

The event itself took place at 08:30 on 12 November 2022 at the southern edge of Hatillo Reservoir in Sánchez Ramírez Province. A fully feathered bananaquit was foraging on a wire fence and fallen logs near the reservoir when an adult great egret approached it using the slow, stealthy stalking behaviour typical of the species.

The egret then launched a precise attack and caught the small passerine in its bill. The bananaquit struggled for several minutes before being swallowed completely. It had been part of a pair, and the second bird flew away when the attack occurred. The observers could not determine whether the captured individual was an adult or a juvenile.

Great egrets are primarily associated with aquatic prey such as fish, amphibians and invertebrates, but previous records show that their diet can also include birds and other terrestrial prey. The authors reviewed earlier reports of avian predation by great egrets, including rails, shorebirds, grebes, meadowlarks, sparrows and swallows.

The Hatillo Reservoir observation is the first documented case of a great egret successfully taking a bananaquit and the first photographic evidence of great egret predation on a passerine reported from the Dominican Republic, Hispaniola and the wider Caribbean region. The authors interpret the record as further evidence of the species’ trophic plasticity and its ability to actively hunt small passerines in terrestrial habitat. Because this is a single documented event, it does not show how frequently great egrets use passerines as prey; the authors suggest future dietary studies to assess how common this behaviour is.

Sources and image credit

  1. De la Rosa, J. G., Estévez, T., & Bodabilla-Peñaló, E. M. (2026). First record of Ardea alba (Great Egret) preying on Coereba flaveola (Bananaquit). Journal of Caribbean Ornithology, 39, 39–42. https://doi.org/10.55431/jco.2026.39.39-42Primary peer-reviewed research note. On 12 November 2022 at Hatillo Reservoir, Dominican Republic, an adult great egret stalked, captured and fully ingested a bananaquit. The authors report the first documented successful predation of Coereba flaveola by Ardea alba and the first photographic evidence of great egret predation on a passerine reported from the Dominican Republic, Hispaniola and the Caribbean region. CC BY 4.0.
  2. Journal of Caribbean Ornithology. (2026). First record of Ardea alba (Great Egret) preying on Coereba flaveola (Bananaquit) [Article page].Publisher record confirming publication date, DOI, authors and Research Articles and Notes classification.

Image: Timoteo Estévez / De la Rosa et al. (2026), Journal of Caribbean Ornithology — adult great egret (Ardea alba) holding a bananaquit (Coereba flaveola) at Hatillo Reservoir, Sánchez Ramírez Province, Dominican Republic, 12 November 2022; photograph from the documented predation event. · CC BY 4.0 · Source

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