Indian Pond Heron
Ardeola grayii
Also known as: Korchey Bok
About This Species
This small heron is common around ponds, ditches, and paddy fields across South Asia, and its cryptic brown-and-white plumage lets it stand motionless and nearly invisible at a water's edge while waiting to strike at fish or amphibians. The best identification moment usually comes in flight, when its wings flash bright white against the surrounding vegetation, in sharp contrast to its drab, hunched posture at rest. It can be found at almost any wetland, however small, throughout the year.
Ethical Viewing Guidelines
- Because it relies on staying still and unnoticed, a slow and quiet approach along a bank or paddy edge is far less disruptive than walking straight toward a perched bird.
- Wetland bird protections across South Asian countries vary in scope and enforcement, so rely on the general principle of not approaching closer than the point where a bird becomes alert and tense rather than a fixed distance.
- Avoid disturbing feeding birds at dawn and dusk, which are their most important foraging periods.
LCAvesPelecaniformesArdeidae
Seasonal Activity
927,199 sightings · 2000–2026
Citizen science records via GBIF
All monthsThis month
Classification
- Kingdom
- Animalia
- Phylum
- Chordata
- Class
- Aves
- Order
- Pelecaniformes
- Family
- Ardeidae
Photo
Wikimedia Commons / Wikimedia Commons
CC-BY-SA-4.0
Occurrence data from GBIF.