The Great Egret breeds in colonies, often together with Grey Herons and other heron species, in trees or in dense, inaccessible reedbeds. The female usually lays 3–5 pale blue-green eggs, which are incubated by both sexes for around four weeks. The young are fed by the parents at the nest and fledge after roughly six weeks. In the Swedish colonies, breeding success depends heavily on undisturbed, water-rich sites.