Order: Pelecaniformes

Family: Ardeidae

 

Size:  up to 84 - 102 cm in length

Weight: up to 1.02 to 2.08 kg

 

Key Features: Its plumage is largely grey above, and off-white below. Adults have a white head with a broad black supercilium and slender crest, while immature birds have a dull grey head. It has a powerful, pinkish-yellow bill, which is brighter in breeding adults.

 

Voice:  The call is a loud croaking "fraaank".

 

Breeding: The species breeds January-May in the Palearctic Region and in spring and summer in temperate areas, but mainly during the rains in Africa and the tropics (although here it may also breed in any month of the year).  It breeds in mixed colonies of hundreds or thousands of pairs (the largest colony in Europe is 800-1,300 pairs), although it may also nest solitarily or in small groups of 2-10 nests.

 

Diet:  It feeds in shallow water, catching fish, frogs, and insects with its long bill. Herons will also take small mammals and reptiles. They occasionally take birds up to the size of a Water Rail.

 

Habitat: This species is a generalist in its habitat use, although shallow water, relatively large prey, and four or five months of ice-free breeding season are among the essential characteristics of its habitat. It occurs from sea-level up to 500 or even 1,000 m, occasionally breeding much higher (2,000 m in Armenia, 3,500-4,000 m in Ladakh, north-west India), inhabits any kind of shallow water, either fresh, brackish or saline, both standing or flowing, and shows a preference for areas with trees as it is commonly an arboreal rooster and nester.

 

Habits: Most migratory movements occur nocturnally, with birds moving in small parties or larger flocks of 200-250. It will often wait motionless for prey, or slowly stalk its victim.

 

Conservation Status: Least Concern on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species.

 

 

 

 

 

References:

CRC Handbook of Avian Body Masses by John B. Dunning Jr. (Editor). CRC Press (1992), ISBN 978-0-8493-4258-5.

 

Pistorius, P.A. (2008) "Grey Heron (Ardea cinerea) predation on the Aldabra White-throated Rail (Dryolimnas cuvieri aldabranus)" Wilson Journal of Ornithology 120 (3):631-632.

 

Mullarney, K., Svensson, L., Zetterstrom, D., & Grant, P.J. (1999) Collins Bird Guide. HarperCollins Publishers Ltd, London.

 

BirdLife International (2014) Species factsheet: Ardea cinerea. Downloaded from http://www.birdlife.org on July 02nd, 2014.

 

Photo Courtesy

Charlesjsharp, Licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0 via Wikimedia Commons