Order: Pelecaniformes

Family: Ardeidae

 

Size:  up to 78 - 90 cm

Weight: up to 525 to 1345 g

 

Key Features: It has a chestnut-red head and neck with striking vertical black stripes, grey shoulders and outer-wings, and a rich chestnut stomach and inner-wings. It is somewhat smaller than the grey heron, from which it can be distinguished by its darker reddish-brown plumage, and, in adults, darker grey back. It has a narrower yellow bill, which is brighter in breeding adults. The most similarly-colored heron is the Goliath heron, which is considerably larger.

 

Voice:  The call is a loud croaking "krek"

 

Breeding: Purple herons often nest alongside other heron species, such as the grey heron, in groups that typically do not exceed 50 pairs; however, a colony of 1,000 pairs has been recorded. Between two and eight eggs are laid, which are incubated for 25 to 27 days, and the fledglings reach independence at around 45 to 50 days.

 

Diet:  feeds on fish, salamanders, frogs, insects, crustaceans, spiders, molluscs, small birds, mammals, snakes and lizards.

 

Habitat: inhabits wetland habitat such as swamps, reed-beds, rice-fields, and lake shores. It is found from sea-level up to an altitude of about 1,800 metres.

 

Habits: It has a slow flight, with its neck retracted. This is characteristic of herons and bitterns, and distinguishes them from storks, cranes and spoonbills, which extend their necks.

 

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

 

 

 

 

 

References:

del Hoyo, J., Elliott, A. and Sargatal, J. (1996) Handbook of the Birds of the World. Volume 3: Hoatzin to Auks. Lynx Edicions, Barcelona.

 

Photo Courtesy

Yathin S Krishnappa, Licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0 via Wikimedia Commons