Animal · Netherlands, Germany, France
Grey heron
Ardea cinerea — the name this animal has in the language scientists everywhere share.
The grey heron is a tall grey water bird that stands at the edge of lakes and rivers across Europe, Asia and parts of Africa. It hunts with patience instead of speed. When a fish comes close enough, its neck shoots forward faster than you can see.
Picture credit: Alexis Lours (CC BY 4.0) · Wikimedia Commons
Where does the grey heron live?
Home: Shallow water at lakes, rivers and coasts.
In the wild it lives in these countries: the Netherlands, Germany, France, the United Kingdom, Spain, Italy, Poland, Sweden.
Conservation status from the IUCN: not in danger.
The short profile
Fully grown: about 1 metre tall, wingspan up to about 1.95 m. It weighs about 1.5 kilograms. On the menu: meat.
The story behind it
A hunting grey heron can stand in the shallows for many minutes without moving anything except its eyes. Its neck is folded into a flat S and held like a loaded spring. When a fish swims within reach, the neck straightens in a fraction of a second and the long bill grabs or spears the prey. Fish are only part of the menu: frogs, water insects, crayfish, mice and even young birds are all taken. In the air the heron looks different from a stork or a crane, because it pulls its neck back into that same S instead of stretching it out. In spring, herons nest together in the tops of tall trees, and such a colony is called a heronry. A pair usually lays three to five blue-green eggs, and the chicks leave the nest after about seven or eight weeks. The noise of a heronry carries a long way, because the young call loudly whenever a parent lands.
Find it on the globe
Grey heron is there as a tiny animated figure that breathes and looks around. From far away the planet is only a blue ball; detail arrives as you zoom in, and this one appears once you are close enough. Open it on the globe.
It sits at its real coordinates, not near them — the same numbers listed in the facts above. Switch off the layer for this kind of place and it disappears again; the buttons for that are down the right-hand edge.
Questions children ask
Why does it fly with its neck pulled in?
A heron’s neck is long and heavy, so carrying it stretched out would be hard work. Folded back against the shoulders it stays balanced. Storks and cranes fly with the neck straight, which is an easy way to tell them apart.
Does it eat only fish?
No. Frogs, water insects, crayfish, mice and young birds all end up in a heron’s bill. In winter, when the water freezes over, some herons hunt voles out in the fields instead.
Do grey herons live near people?
Often, yes. They fish in city canals, park ponds and garden ponds, and some colonies sit in trees right beside busy roads. Even so they keep a careful distance and fly off if you come too close.
Where these numbers come from
Every figure on this page was checked against public reference sources before publication. Where sources genuinely disagree, the text says so.
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