The Great Egret (popularly known as White Crane) also known as the common egret, large egret, or (in the Old World) great white egret or great white heron is a large, widely distributed Egret, with four subspecies found in Asia, Africa, the Americas, and Southern Europe. This long-legged, S-necked white bird is distributed across most of the tropical and warmer temperate regions of the world, it builds tree nests in colonies close to water. The Great Egret is the symbol of the National Audubon Society and represents a conservation success story.