The yellow-billed egret is a species of heron, a medium sized heron. This species is found in Sub-Saharan Africa. Until 2023 the yellow-billed egret was regarded as a subspecies of the intermediate egret of Asia, as was the plumed egret of Australia and Oceania.

The medium egret, median egret, smaller egret or intermediate egret, is a medium-sized heron. Some taxonomists put the species in the genus Egretta or Mesophoyx. It is a resident breeder in southern and eastern Asia.