Purple heron: Where It Lives, Map & Facts

Where the purple heron lives – recorded in 82 countries, with quick facts from Wikidata and an introduction from Wikipedia.

Scientific name	Ardea purpurea
Group	Herons, storks, cranes & flamingos
Status	Least concern (Wikidata, IUCN category label)
Found in	82 countries
Continents	Africa, Asia, Europe
Mass	51 g (birth weight)
Class	Bird
Order	Pelecaniformes
Family	Ardeidae

Where does the purple heron live?

Open-licence (CC0 / CC BY) wild records published on GBIF place the purple heron in 82 countries and territories across Africa, Asia and Europe. Wikidata gives its range as: Nanling Mountains, Africa, Brazil, South America.

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 purple heron?

Wikidata records the following for the purple heron: mass 51 g (birth weight).

Is the purple heron endangered?

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

What kind of animal is the purple heron?

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

About the purple heron

The purple heron (Ardea purpurea) is a wide-ranging heron species. It breeds in Africa, central and southern Europe, and southern and eastern Palearctic. The Western Palearctic populations migrate between breeding and wintering habitats whereas the African and tropical-Asian populations are primarily sedentary, except for occasional dispersive movements.

It is similar in appearance to the more common grey heron but is slightly smaller, more slender and has darker plumage. It is also a more evasive bird, favouring densely vegetated habitats near water, particularly reed beds. It hunts for a range of prey including fish, rodents, frogs and insects, either stalking them or standing waiting in ambush.

Text in “About” is quoted from the Wikipedia article Purple heron (revision 1369640168), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Changes: lead section excerpted verbatim, formatting removed. Quick facts, taxonomy and status: Wikidata Q160488 (CC0). Countries and pin: GBIF.org occurrence records (CC0 / CC BY 4.0).