Striated Heron
Butorides striata
Also known as: Green-Backed Heron
Habitat
Aquatic
Diet
VertFishScav
Active Time
Diurnal
Size
202 g
About This Species
A small, hunch-backed heron found along mangroves, riverbanks and mudflats across a broad tropical and subtropical range, standing motionless at the water's edge before stabbing at fish and crustaceans. Early morning and dusk are the best times to catch it hunting, when it forages actively along shaded, muddy margins. Its short legs and dark, streaky plumage make it easy to overlook until it moves.
Ethical Viewing Guidelines
- Stay back from feeding or nesting birds, ideally observing from a boardwalk, boat or the opposite bank rather than approaching mudflats directly, since flushing a foraging heron wastes energy it needs for hunting.
- Protection status varies considerably across its wide range, from strong legal safeguards in some countries to little enforcement in others, so local caution is warranted rather than assuming a single standard applies.
- Moving slowly and quietly, and avoiding sudden movements near mangrove edges, gives the best chance of a prolonged, undisturbed view.
LCAvesPelecaniformesArdeidae
Seasonal Activity
579,005 sightings · 2000–2026
Citizen science records via GBIF
All monthsThis month
Classification
- Kingdom
- Animalia
- Phylum
- Chordata
- Class
- Aves
- Order
- Pelecaniformes
- Family
- Ardeidae
Traits
- Diet
- VertFishScav
- Foraging
- Aquatic
- Activity
- Diurnal
- Body mass
- 202 g
Photo
(c) eduardovieira17, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC), uploaded by eduardovieira17
CC-BY-NC-4.0
Occurrence data from GBIF.