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Purple Heron

Ardea purpurea

Purple Heron

Quick Facts

Classification

Scientific name:

Ardea purpurea

Family:

Herons, storks and ibises

Measurements

Length:

78cm to 97cm

Wingspan:

120cm to 152cm

Weight:

500g to 1.35kg

Other birds in the Herons, storks and ibises family

This is a summer visitor which is easy to identify as it flies over the reed beds. Probably the best two places to get views are Albufera and Albufereta where they are regularly spotted. It is worth noting that at Albufera you can also see Night and Squacco Herons as well as Little Bitterns.

Technical description

Purple Heron (Ardea purpurea) is a wading bird in the heron family Ardeidae, breeding in Africa, central and southern Europe, and southern and eastern Asia. The European populations are migratory, wintering in tropical Africa. The purple heron is a large bird, 78–97 cm (31–38 in) in length with a standing height from 70 to 94 cm (28 to 37 in) and a 120–152 cm (47–60 in) wingspan. However, it is slender for its size, weighing only 0.5–1.35 kg (1.1–3.0 lb). It is somewhat smaller than the grey heron, from which it can be distinguished by its darker reddish-brown plumage and, in adults, darker grey back. It has a narrower yellow bill, which is brighter in breeding adults.

For more information on what herons eat, check out this article.

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Learn more about the Purple Heron

Identification

Herons in the UK (Complete Guide with Pictures)

Facts

What Do Herons Eat? (Complete Guide)

Other birds in the Herons, storks and ibises family

Great Blue Heron

Poised to strike, the Great Blue Heron stalks along American waterways in search of fish and other small animals. These widespread waterbirds are among the tallest of North America’s birds.

Cocoi Heron

A large and gregarious heron that can be found across the lowlands and wetlands of South America. The Cocoi Heron is monotypic and can be fairly easy and common to see in its range.

Little Bittern

Spoonbill

Little Egret

Elegant and poised heron with white plumage.

Grey Heron

Despite their large frame, these greyish-white birds are elegant and graceful, often found statuesque beside ponds.

Great White Egret

Cattle Egret

Originating in Africa, the western Mediterranean and sub-tropical Asia, the cattle egret has expanded naturally over the last hundred years to South America in the late 1800’s and North America as recently as the early 1950’s. Australia recorded its first migrants in 1940 whilst New Zealand’s population of egrets was established as late as 1960.

Bittern

One of the rarest breeding birds in the UK, a secretive and difficult to see member of the heron family.

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