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Great Herons and Egrets
Ardea
Ardea is a genus of herons. These herons are generally large in size, typically 80–100 cm or more in length.
These large herons are associated with wetlands where they prey on fish, frogs, and other aquatic species. Most members of this almost worldwide group breed colonially in trees, building large stick nests.
23 branches of this genus, most-observed first · about 16 known species
Great Blue Heron
speciesArdea herodias
Great Egret
speciesArdea alba
Grey Heron
speciesArdea cinerea
Western Cattle-Egret
speciesArdea ibis
Eastern Cattle-Egret
speciesArdea coromanda
Purple Heron
speciesArdea purpurea
Cocoi Heron
speciesArdea cocoi
Medium Egret
speciesArdea intermedia
Black-headed Heron
speciesArdea melanocephala
White-necked Heron
speciesArdea pacifica
Plumed Egret
speciesArdea plumifera
Goliath Heron
speciesArdea goliath
Yellow-billed Egret
speciesArdea brachyrhyncha
Great-billed Heron
speciesArdea sumatrana
Humblot's Heron
speciesArdea humbloti
White-bellied Heron
speciesArdea insignis
Great Egret × Great Blue Heron
hybridArdea alba × herodias
Great Egret × Cocoi Heron
hybridArdea alba × cocoi
Grey × Purple Heron
hybridArdea cinerea × purpurea
Great Egret × Grey Heron
hybridArdea alba × cinerea
Gray × Black-headed Heron
hybridArdea cinerea × melanocephala
Bennu Heron
speciesArdea bennuides
Cocoi × Great Blue Heron
hybridArdea cocoi × herodias
Where it lives
Recorded sightings
—
geo-referenced records in GBIF, from museums, herbaria and field observers.
Drag the globe to turn it. Dots are where records exist, not a range map; darker means more records.
In the old herbals & bestiaries
History of Animals, Book I: On Viviparous Quadrupeds
Conrad Gessner · 1554 · p.393
History of Animals, Book I: On Viviparous Quadrupeds
Conrad Gessner · 1554 · p.387
Noah's Ark
Athanasius Kircher · 1675 · p.127
The Natural History of Carolina, Florida and the Bahama Islands, Vol. 1
Mark Catesby · 1777 · p.245
The Natural History of Carolina, Florida and the Bahama Islands, Vol. 1
Mark Catesby · 1777 · p.251
The Natural History of Carolina, Florida and the Bahama Islands, Vol. 1
Mark Catesby · 1777 · p.257
The Natural History of Carolina, Florida and the Bahama Islands, Vol. 1
Mark Catesby · 1777 · p.248
A voyage to the islands Madera Barbados Jamaica Vol. 1
Hans Sloane · 1707 · p.630
In the stacks
Searching the stacks…
Every page naming Ardea in the Biodiversity Heritage Library →
This page is assembled live from iNaturalist, GBIF, Wikipedia, the Source Library and the Internet Archive. It is not yet part of the hand-edited codex. iNaturalist taxon 4950.