Bird
Gray/Purple Heron
Ardea cinerea · Ardeidae · Pelecaniformes
Best monthsJan · Apr–Maymost records
Records7,887,746in 152 countries
Most seen inNetherlands1,112,472 records
Red ListLeast concernIUCN status
About
Gray/Purple Heron in brief
The gray/purple heron (Ardea cinerea) is a bird of the Ardeidae family — species of bird.
Across the 152 countries we cover it has 7,887,746 published records, most of them from the Netherlands, Sweden and the United Kingdom. It is recorded through much of the year, most often in January, April and May.
Its global conservation status is least concern on the IUCN Red List.
Records by month
All countries combined · the strongest months highlightedJFMAMJJASOND
Where & when
When to look in each country
Netherlands1,112,472 records · best Jan, Oct
Sweden883,952 records · best May, Aug
United Kingdom729,943 records · best May, Apr
France645,831 records · best Jan, Apr
Denmark630,220 records · best Apr, Aug
Spain505,116 records · best Jan, Sep
Germany409,685 records · best May, Jan
Norway382,405 records · best Apr, May
India316,505 records · best Jan, Feb
Belgium303,080 records · best Jan, Oct
Taiwan270,570 records · best Dec, Jan
South Africa227,198 records · best Jan, Nov
Portugal166,046 records · best Oct, Dec
Italy111,300 records · best Jan, Dec
Japan89,909 records · best Oct, May
South Korea68,438 records · best May, Oct
Czechia67,331 records · best Apr, May
Russia63,855 records · best May, Jun
Israel57,888 records · best Oct, Mar
Austria56,729 records · best Apr, Mar
Poland53,650 records · best May, Aug
Ireland50,928 records · best May, Sep
Türkiye48,935 records · best Apr, May
China48,276 records · best Nov, Dec
Switzerland43,183 records · best Apr, May
Estonia35,173 records · best May, Apr
Finland34,595 records · best Aug, May
United Arab Emirates28,356 records · best Jan, Nov
Greece27,765 records · best May, Apr
Kenya27,587 records · best Nov, Oct
Bulgaria22,789 records · best Jan, May
Thailand21,968 records · best Jan, Feb
Sri Lanka18,719 records · best Feb, Dec
Singapore18,350 records · best Dec, Jan
Ukraine17,337 records · best May, Aug
Hungary16,797 records · best May, Apr
Croatia16,174 records · best Sep, May
Serbia15,673 records · best May, Jan
Tanzania10,992 records · best Feb, Oct
Namibia10,283 records · best Nov, Oct
Slovakia10,166 records · best May, Apr
Romania9,463 records · best Aug, May
Malaysia9,054 records · best Dec, Jan
Oman8,956 records · best Nov, Feb
Morocco8,951 records · best Mar, Apr
Slovenia8,375 records · best Apr, Aug
Botswana8,077 records · best Sep, Aug
Luxembourg7,473 records · best Apr, May
Uganda7,334 records · best Jul, Aug
Iran7,000 records · best Jan, Feb
Gambia6,540 records · best Nov, Jan
Zimbabwe6,518 records · best Oct, Nov
Senegal6,419 records · best Jan, Dec
Cambodia5,745 records · best Feb, Jan
Egypt5,673 records · best Oct, Dec
Zambia5,299 records · best Oct, Aug
Georgia5,000 records · best Sep, May
Mongolia4,937 records · best Jun, May
Lithuania4,907 records · best May, Aug
Philippines4,870 records · best Nov, Jan
Belarus4,656 records · best May, Aug
Cyprus4,616 records · best Apr, Mar
Kuwait4,451 records · best Jan, Nov
Mozambique3,594 records · best Aug, Nov
Nepal2,913 records · best Dec, Nov
Saudi Arabia2,854 records · best Oct, Feb
Kazakhstan2,736 records · best May, Jun
Indonesia2,636 records · best Aug, Jul
Ethiopia2,496 records · best Nov, Dec
Moldova2,467 records · best May, Aug
Nigeria2,168 records · best Dec, Oct
Azerbaijan2,167 records · best Oct, Nov
Ghana2,059 records · best Nov, Feb
Rwanda2,058 records · best Jul, Dec
Iceland2,051 records · best Oct, Mar
Latvia2,039 records · best May, Jun
Madagascar1,973 records · best Nov, Oct
Bangladesh1,862 records · best Dec, Nov
Montenegro1,628 records · best Apr, May
Vietnam1,573 records · best Dec, Jan
Maldives1,529 records · best Mar, Dec
Eswatini1,349 records · best Jan, Oct
Albania1,337 records · best Sep, Oct
Seychelles1,310 records · best Nov, Oct
Malawi1,118 records · best Oct, Nov
Pakistan1,082 records · best Jan, Feb
Algeria1,029 records · best Sep, Oct
Jordan1,028 records · best Apr, Sep
Qatar1,002 records · best Oct, Nov
Tunisia894 records · best Apr, Feb
North Macedonia892 records · best Oct, Sep
Kyrgyzstan872 records · best Jul, May
Myanmar871 records · best Jan, Dec
Cape Verde866 records · best Apr, Jan
Armenia849 records · best May, Apr
Bosnia and Herzegovina754 records · best May, Sep
Angola674 records · best Sep, Aug
Kosovo670 records · best May, Mar
Uzbekistan666 records · best May, Apr
Andorra545 records · best Jan, Mar
Bahrain541 records · best Nov, Oct
Benin537 records · best Jan, Feb
Lesotho520 records · best Nov, Jan
Malta479 records · best Sep, Apr
Mauritania459 records · best Dec, Jan
Laos435 records · best Jan, Nov
Iraq388 records · best Jan, Sep
Lebanon385 records · best Sep, Oct
Yemen356 records · best Feb, Oct
Burkina Faso350 records · best Jan, Dec
Cameroon319 records · best Jan, Mar
Democratic Republic of the Congo303 records · best Nov, Oct
Guinea-Bissau303 records · best Feb, Jan
Palestine252 records · best Feb, Nov
Liechtenstein202 records · best Aug, Jul
Chad201 records · best Feb, Mar
Sudan193 records · best Oct, Mar
Gabon192 records · best Jul, Aug
Barbados181 records · best Jan, Feb
Tajikistan176 records · best May, Apr
Ivory Coast175 records · best Dec, Jan
Djibouti159 records · best Sep, Feb
Niger145 records · best Jan, Feb
Togo129 records · best Nov, Mar
Trinidad and Tobago129 records · best Jan, Feb
Guinea125 records · best Jan, Feb
Equatorial Guinea101 records · best Jan, Feb
Sierra Leone91 records · best Dec, Jan
Libya89 records · best Oct, Sep
Mali78 records · best Nov, Jan
North Korea76 records · best Apr, Jun
Republic of the Congo71 records · best Feb, Mar
Liberia65 records · best Jan, Feb
Syria61 records · best Apr, Oct
Burundi50 records · best Oct, Dec
South Sudan50 records · best Feb, Jan
Palau46 records · best Dec, Apr
Eritrea43 records · best Feb, Jan
Turkmenistan33 records · best May, Apr
Central African Republic29 records · best Dec, Nov
Comoros24 records · best Oct, Feb
Afghanistan21 records · best Mar, Apr
Monaco20 records · best Oct, Aug
Somalia20 records · best Jan, Aug
Brunei19 records · best Oct, Nov
São Tomé and Príncipe11 records · best Jan, Oct
Vatican City7 records · best Jun, Oct
Saint Vincent and the Grenadines6 records · best Jan, Mar
San Marino3 records · best May, Oct
Antigua and Barbuda2 records · best Sep, Jan
Saint Lucia1 records · best Dec, Jan
Mauritius1 records · best Sep, Jan
Map
Where it has been recorded
Density of published records; brighter cells have more records.
Relatives
All birdsMore of the Ardeidae family
Photo: Bernard DUPONT from FRANCE · CC BY-SA 2.0 · Wikimedia CommonsReport this photo · linked, not stored
Great Egret
Ardea alba
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