Grey heron: Where It Lives, Map & Facts

Where the grey heron lives – recorded in 122 countries, with quick facts from Wikidata and an introduction from Wikipedia.

Scientific name	Ardea cinerea
Group	Herons, storks, cranes & flamingos
Status	Least concern (Wikidata, IUCN category label)
Found in	122 countries
Continents	Africa, Asia, Europe, North America
Mass	61 g (birth weight)
Class	Bird
Order	Pelecaniformes
Family	Ardeidae

Where does the grey heron live?

Open-licence (CC0 / CC BY) wild records published on GBIF place the grey heron in 122 countries and territories across Africa, Asia, Europe and North America. Wikidata gives its range as: Nanling Mountains, Africa, Brazil, South America, Hefei.

Countries with at least a handful of records (a minimum share of the species’ records, to leave out vagrants and escapes). Records with coordinates only; captive and fossil records excluded.

How big is a grey heron?

Wikidata records the following for the grey heron: mass 61 g (birth weight).

Is the grey heron endangered?

The grey heron’s conservation status recorded in Wikidata is “Least concern” (an IUCN Red List category label). Source: Wikidata.

What kind of animal is the grey heron?

The grey heron (Ardea cinerea) is a bird in the order Pelecaniformes and the family Ardeidae, genus Ardea. (Taxonomy from Wikidata.)

About the grey heron

The grey heron (Ardea cinerea) is a long-legged wading bird of the heron family, Ardeidae, native throughout Europe, Asia, and most of Africa. It is resident in much of its range, but some populations from the more northern parts migrate southwards in autumn. A bird of wetland areas, it can be seen around lakes, rivers, ponds, marshes and on the sea coast. It feeds mostly on aquatic creatures which it catches after standing stationary beside or in the water, or stalking its prey through the shallows.

Standing up to 1 metre (3 ft 3 in) tall, adults weigh from 1 to 2 kg (2 to 4 lb). They have a white head and neck with a broad black stripe that extends from the eye to the black crest. The body and wings are grey above and the underparts are greyish-white, with some black on the flanks. The long, sharply pointed beak is pinkish-yellow and the legs are brown.

Text in “About” is quoted from the Wikipedia article Grey heron (revision 1378830909), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Changes: lead section excerpted verbatim, formatting removed. Quick facts, taxonomy and status: Wikidata Q25273 (CC0). Countries and pin: GBIF.org occurrence records (CC0 / CC BY 4.0).