Grey Heron
Ardea cinerea
Also known as: Gray Heron, Bernat Pescaire, Heron
Habitat
Aquatic
Diet
VertFishScav
Active Time
Diurnal
Size
1.4 kg
About This Species
This tall, grey wading bird is a familiar sight standing motionless at the edges of rivers, lakes, marshes and estuaries, waiting to strike at fish with its dagger-like bill. It also hunts in shallow water with slow, deliberate steps, and flies with slow wingbeats on broad, bowed wings, neck folded back. Dawn and dusk near still water are especially productive, and breeding colonies in tall trees are active from early spring.
Ethical Viewing Guidelines
- Keep a reasonable distance, especially from breeding colonies (heronries), since repeated disturbance can cause adults to abandon nests.
- Wild bird protection laws across its range in Europe and Asia generally prohibit deliberate disturbance at the nest, though the specific rules and penalties vary by country, so check local regulations rather than assuming one standard applies everywhere.
- Approaching feeding birds slowly and quietly, or watching from a hide, gives better views without causing flight.
LCAvesPelecaniformesArdeidae
Seasonal Activity
7,168,717 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
- 1.4 kg
Photo
Wikimedia Commons / Wikimedia Commons
CC-BY-SA-4.0
Occurrence data from GBIF.