Thegrey heron (Ardea cinerea) is a long-legged wadingbird of theheron family, Ardeidae, native throughout temperateEurope andAsia, and also parts ofAfrica. It is resident in much of its range, but some populations from the more northern partsmigrate 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.
The birds breedcolonially in spring inheronries, usually building their nests high in trees. A clutch of usually three to five bluish-green eggs is laid. Both birds incubate the eggs for around 25 days, and then both feed the chicks, which fledge when 7-8 weeks old. Many juveniles do not survive their first winter, but if they do, they can expect to live for about 5 years.
It is closely related and similar to the North Americangreat blue heron (Ardea herodias), which differs in being larger, and having chestnut-brown flanks and thighs; and to thecocoi heron (Ardea cocoi) from South America, with which it forms a superspecies. Some authorities believe that the subspeciesA. c. monicae should be considered a separate species.[6] It has been known to hybridise with thegreat egret (Ardea alba), thelittle egret (Egretta garzetta), the great blue heron and thepurple heron (Ardea purpurea).[7] The Australianwhite-faced heron is often incorrectly called a grey heron.[8] In Ireland, the grey heron is often colloquially called a "crane".[9]
The grey heron is a large bird, standing up to 100 cm (40 in) tall and measuring 84–102 cm (33–40 in) long with a 155–195 cm (61–77 in) wingspan.[10] The body weight can range from 1.02–2.08 kg (2 lb 4 oz – 4 lb9+1⁄4 oz).[11] Theplumage is largely ashy-grey above, and greyish-white below, with some black on the flanks. Adults have a white head and neck with a broad blacksupercilium that terminates in the slender, dangling crest, and bluish-black streaks on the front of the neck. The scapular feathers and the feathers at the base of the neck are somewhat elongated. Immature birds lack the dark stripe on the head and are generally duller in appearance than adults, with a grey head and neck, and a small, dark grey crest. The pinkish-yellow beak is long, straight, and powerful, and is brighter in color in breeding adults. Theiris is yellow and the legs are brown and very long.[12]
The main call is a loud croaking "fraaank", but a variety of guttural and raucous noises are heard at the breeding colony. The male uses an advertisement call to encourage a female to join him at the nest, and both sexes use various greeting calls after a pair bond has been established. A loud, harsh "schaah" is used by the male in driving other birds from the vicinity of the nest and a soft "gogogo" expresses anxiety, as when a predator is nearby or a human walks past the colony. The chicks utter loud chattering or ticking noises.[12]
Grey heron flies a short distance in aTokyo park, 2021
The grey heron has an extensive range throughout most of thePalearctic realm. The range of the nominate subspeciesA. c. cinerea extends to 70° N in Norway and 66°N in Sweden, but its northerly limit is around 60°N across the rest of Europe and Asia, as far eastwards as theUral Mountains. To the south, its range extends to northern Spain, France, central Italy, the Balkans, the Caucasus, Iraq, Iran, India, The Maldives and Myanmar (Burma). It is also present in Africa south of theSahara Desert, theCanary Islands, Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, and many of the Mediterranean Islands. It is replaced byA. c. jouyi in eastern Siberia, Mongolia, eastern China, Hainan, Japan, and Taiwan. In Madagascar and theAldabra Islands, the subspeciesA. c. firasa is found, while the subspeciesA. c. monicae is restricted to Mauritania and offshore islands.[12]
Over much of its range, the grey heron is resident, but birds from the more northerly parts of Europe migrate southwards, some remaining in Central and Southern Europe, others travelling on to Africa south of the Sahara Desert.[12]
The grey heron is also known to bevagrant in the Caribbean, Bermuda, Iceland, Greenland, the Aleutian Islands, and Newfoundland, with a few confirmed sightings in other parts of North America including Nova Scotia and Nantucket.[13] In South America, the majority of the sightings come fromBrazil, especially inFernando de Noronha.[14] There is also an old record fromColombia.[15]
Within its range, the grey heron can be found anywhere with suitable watery habitat that can supply its food. The water body must be either shallow enough, or have a shelving margin in it, so that it can wade. Although most common in the lowlands, it also occurs in mountain tarns, lakes, reservoirs, rivers, marshes, ponds, ditches, flooded areas, coastal lagoons, estuaries, and the sea shore. It sometimes forages away from water in pasture, and it has been recorded in desert areas, hunting for beetles and lizards. Breeding colonies are usually near feeding areas, but exceptionally may be up to eight kilometres (five miles) away, and birds sometimes forage as much as 20 km (12 mi) from the nesting site.[12]
The grey heron has a slow flight, with its long neck retracted in an S-shape. This is characteristic of herons andbitterns, and distinguishes them fromstorks,cranes, andspoonbills, which extend their necks.[12] It flies with slow wing-beats and sometimes glides for short distances. It sometimes soars, circling to considerable heights, but not as often as the stork. In spring, and occasionally in autumn, birds may soar high above the heronry and chase each other, undertake aerial manoeuvres or swoop down towards the ground. The birds often perch in trees, but spend much time on the ground, striding about or standing still for long periods with an upright stance, often on a single leg.[12]
Prey items vary in size from 1 cm-long fish and invertebrates, weighing less than 1g, to 30 cm-long carps and 57cm eels. While chicks tend to have smaller prey, individual prey caught by fully-grown Grey Herons commonly exceed 100g in weight and occasionally exceed 500g.[22] One paper reports that an adult heron managed to catch and swallowsea trout weighing 680g.[23] It may stand motionless in the shallows, or on a rock or sandbank beside the water, waiting for prey to come within striking distance. Alternatively, it moves slowly and stealthily through the water with its body less upright than when at rest and its neck curved in an "S". It is then able to straighten its neck and strike with its bill very quickly.[12] Small fish are swallowed head first, and larger prey and eels are carried to the shore where they are subdued by being beaten on the ground or stabbed by the bill. They are then swallowed or have hunks of flesh torn off. For prey such as small mammals and birds or ducklings, the prey is held by the neck and either drowned, suffocated, has its neck snapped with the heron's beak, or is bludgeoned against the ground or a nearby rock, before being swallowed whole. The bird regurgitatespellets of indigestible material such as fur, bones, and the chitinous remains of insects. The main hunting periods are around dawn and dusk, but it is also active at other times of the day. At night it roosts in trees or on cliffs, where it tends to be gregarious.[12]
Grey heron flying with nesting material in Stockholm, Sweden
This species breeds incolonies known as heronries, usually in high trees close to lakes, the seashore, or other wetlands. Other sites are sometimes chosen, and these include low trees and bushes, bramble patches,reed beds, heather clumps and cliff ledges. The same nest is used year after year until blown down; it starts as a small platform of sticks but expands into a bulky nest as more material is added in subsequent years. It may be lined with smaller twigs, strands of root or dead grasses; in reed beds, it is built from dead reeds. The male usually collects the material, while the female constructs the nest. Breeding activities take place between February and June. When a bird arrives at the nest, a greeting ceremony occurs in which each partner raises and lowers its wings and plumes.[9] In continental Europe, and elsewhere, nesting colonies sometimes include nests of thepurple heron and other heron species.[12]
Courtship involves the male calling from his chosen nesting site. On the arrival of the female, both birds participate in a stretching ceremony, in which each bird extends its neck vertically before bringing it backwards and downwards with the bill remaining vertical, simultaneously flexing its legs, before returning to its normal stance. The snapping ceremony is another behaviour where the neck is extended forward, the head is lowered to the level of the feet, and the mandibles are vigorously snapped together. This may be repeated 20-40 times. When the pairing is settled, the birds may caress each other by attending to the other bird's plumage. The male may then offer the female a stick, which she incorporates into the nest. At this, the male becomes excited, further preening the female, and copulation takes place.[12]
An adult feeding juveniles
Theclutch of eggs usually numbers three to five, though as few as two and as many as seven eggs have been recorded. The eggs have a matt surface and are greenish-blue, averaging60 mm × 43 mm (2+3⁄8 in × 1+11⁄16 in). The eggs are normally laid at two-day intervals and incubation usually starts after the first or second egg has been laid. Both birds take part in incubation and theperiod lasts about 25 days. Both parents bring food for the young. At first, the chicks seize the adult's bill from the side and extract regurgitated food from it. Later, the adult disgorges the food at the nest and the chicks squabble for possession. Theyfledge at 7-8 weeks. Usually, a single brood is raised each year, but two broods have been recorded.[12]
The oldest recorded bird lived for 23 years, but the average life expectancy in the wild is about 5 years. Only about a third of juveniles survive into their second year, many falling victim to predation.[9]
On May 24, 1990, on the proposal of Marek Vahula, the nesting colony of Vandu village of Kadrina municipality (up to 125 nesting trees) was taken under protection in the 1st place. In the spring-winter of 2001, all suitable nesting trees were cut down there in defiance of the conservation regulations. Driven by this, the nationwide heron protection and research project "The Heron Seeker" was brought to life. In seven years (2007-2014) all nesting colonies and feeding grounds in Estonia were mapped. The project's final result was the English-language E-book: "Heron Seeker`s book" Tallinn, 2024. (ISBN 978-9916-9943-3-7).
Grey herons have the ability to live in cities where habitats and nesting space are available. In theNetherlands, it has established itself over the past decades in great numbers in urban environments. In cities such asAmsterdam, they are ever present and well adapted to modern city life.[24] They hunt as usual, but also visit street markets and snack bars. Some individuals make use of people feeding them at their homes or share the catch of recreational fishermen. Similar behaviour on a smaller scale has been reported in Ireland.[25] Garden ponds stocked with ornamental fish are attractive to herons, and the easy prey may provide young birds with a learning opportunity on how to hunt.[26]
Herons have been observed visiting water enclosures in zoos, such as spaces forpenguins,otters,pelicans, andseals, and taking food meant for the animals on display.[27][28][29]
In a variety of sources, one can find a common statement that grey herons, by eating large quantities of fish, is a significant pest of fisheries, causing damage to the population of valuable fish both in natural reservoirs and in ponds intended for the cultivation of cultivated fish species.
For example, in the 1970s, major Soviet experts considered the grey heron to be a harmful species, for example, for fish breeding reservoirs inUkraine. In particular, it was established that in Ukraine and in general in the southern regions of theUSSR, carp andmullet suffered from heron farms (there, in addition, the heron caught fish in the dark, which made it difficult to fight it). It was undoubtedly noted that grey herons, especially in the post-nesting period, when forage migrations begin, gather in significant numbers on fish ponds and then eat many juveniles of cultivated fish species. In theKuban delta, the share of valuable, specially cultivated species was significant in the hunting of the grey heron, of which 84% were carp, 12% were white carp, and 4% wereBighead carp.[30]
According to studies at fish ponds inUpper Lusatia inGermany, the grey heron does cause significant damage to fisheries, but the damage caused by eating valuable fish species is balanced by the fact that it eats a large number of fish affected by ligulosis. The undoubted benefit of the heron is also expressed in the fact that it eats a lot of harmful insects. However, in some places, grey herons can serve as a breeding ground for the so-called ink sickness, or postodiplostomosis, a dangerous disease of young cyprinids.
In addition, large colonies of grey herons can have a significant impact on soil biogeochemistry and vegetation. For example, a heron colony in one study site located near the southern edge of theRepublic of Tatarstan on a peninsula formed by the confluence of theVolga, the largest and longest river in Europe, and its largest tributary, the Kama, on the banks of the smaller riverMyosha (a tributary of the Kama); after settling around 2006, it expanded for 15 years, leading to the intensive deposition of nutrients with faeces, food remains and feathers thereby considerably altering the local soil biogeochemistry.[31] Thus, lower pH levels around 4.5, 10- and 2-fold higher concentrations of phosphorus and nitrogen, as well as 1.2-fold discrepancies in K, Li, Mn, Zn and Co, respectively, compared to the surrounding control forest area could be observed.
Being large birds with powerful beaks, grey herons have few predators as adults, butwhite-tailed eagles,golden eagles and more rarelyEurasian goshawks will take them as prey.[32][33] The eggs and young are more vulnerable; the adult birds do not usually leave the nest unattended, but may be lured away by maraudingcrows orkites.[34] A dead grey heron found in thePyrenees is thought to have been killed by anotter. The bird may have been weakened by harsh winter weather causing scarcity of its prey.[35]
A study performed by Sitko and Heneberg in the Czech Republic between 1962 and 2013 suggested that Central European grey herons host 29 species ofparasitic worms. The dominant species consisted ofApharyngostrigea cornu (67% prevalence),Posthodiplostomum cuticola (41% prevalence),Echinochasmus beleocephalus (39% prevalence),Uroproctepisthmium bursicola (36% prevalence),Neogryporhynchus cheilancristrotus (31% prevalence),Desmidocercella numidica (29% prevalence), andBilharziella polonica (5% prevalence). Juvenile grey herons were shown to host fewer species, but the intensity of infection was higher in the juveniles than in the adult herons. Of thedigenean flatworms found in Central European grey herons, 52% of the species likely infected their definitive hosts outside Central Europe itself, in the premigratory, migratory, or wintering quarters, despite the fact that a substantial proportion of grey herons do not migrate to the south.[36]
Bennu, anancient Egyptian deity associated with the sun, creation, and rebirth, was depicted as a heron in New Kingdom artwork.[37]
Inancient Rome, the heron was a bird ofdivination that gave anaugury (sign of a coming event) by its call, like the raven, stork, and owl.[38]
Roast heron was once a specially prized dish in Britain for special occasions such as state banquets. For the appointment ofGeorge Neville asArchbishop of York in 1465, 400 herons were served to the guests. Young birds were still being shot and eaten inRomney Marsh in 1896. Two grey herons feature in astained-glass window of the church inSelborne,Hampshire.[39]
TheEnglishsurnames Earnshaw, Hernshaw, Herne, and Heron all derive from the heron, the suffix -shaw meaning awood, referring to a place where herons nested.[40]
The bird is common in the Maldives under the name ofMaakana and has given its name to the character of a satiricalTV show.[41]
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^Cramp, S. (1977):The Birds of the Western Palearctic. Oxford.ISBN0-19-857358-8
^Veldkamp, R (2008). "Cormorants Phalacrocorax carbo and other large bird species as prey of goshawks Accipiter gentilis in De Wieden".De Takkeling.16:85–91.
^Sitko, J.; Heneberg, P. (2015). "Composition, structure and pattern of helminth assemblages associated with central European herons (Ardeidae)".Parasitology International.64 (1):100–112.doi:10.1016/j.parint.2014.10.009.PMID25449288.
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