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Purple Heron

A species of Great herons
Scientific name : Ardea purpurea Genus : Great herons

Purple Heron, A species of Great herons
Botanical name: Ardea purpurea
Genus: Great herons
Purple Heron (Ardea purpurea) Photo By Sudipta Nandy , used under CC-BY-SA-4.0 /Cropped and compressed from original

Description

The purple Heron is a beautiful bird that is highly adapted to its wetland habitat, where it primarily feeds on fish and other prey. Its long neck and sharp beak make it a skilled hunter of fish and small prey in shallow waters. It is easily recognizable.
Size
76 - 89 cm
Colors
Brown
Gray
Life Expectancy
25 years
Feeding Habits
Purple Heron mainly prey on fish, amphibians, and insects but also consume mammals, reptiles, and various aquatic creatures. Purple Heron show distinct foraging behaviors, stealthily stalking or standing motionless in water before swiftly striking. Adapted to diverse habitats, purple Heron's versatile feeding allows exploitation of local food resources.
Habitat
Purple Heron primarily resides in a variety of wetland habitats, favoring areas with dense aquatic vegetation like reed beds, including species like Phragmites and papyrus. These birds are adaptable and may also inhabit brackish lagoons, mangroves, and coastal mudflats. They forage in freshwater ecosystems such as lakes, marshes, and river margins but extend to man-made environments like ricefields, ditches, and canals. Uncommonly, purple Heron utilizes dry habitats such as arid slopes and hillside areas, and occasionally, agricultural landscapes. They are typically found at low altitudes but can be located up to 2000 meters above sea level in some regions.
Dite type
Piscivorous

General Info

Behavior

Flight is slow, with the neck retracted and the legs extending a long way behind the tail. Its long toes mean it can walk on floating vegetation, and it sometimes walks over bushes in the same way, not making any attempt to grip the branches. It seldom perches in trees, preferring more terrestrial sites to rest. It feeds in shallow water, grabbing its prey with its powerful beak.

Distribution Area

The purple heron has a mostly palaearctic distribution and breeds in Europe, Asia and Africa. The range of the western race extends from southern Spain and North Africa eastwards across southern and eastern Europe as far as Lake Balkhash in Kazakhstan. In Africa, the bird breeds in Senegal, down the east coast of Africa and in Madagascar. The eastern race extends from the Indian Subcontinent, eastwards to eastern China and the Philippines, and northwards to the basins of the Amur River and the Ussuri River at about 49°N. The southern race is restricted to Madagascar, and a small population of purple herons on the Cape Verde Islands is regarded as a separate race by some authorities. Between August and October, birds of the western population migrate southwards to tropical Africa, returning northwards in March. Purple herons often overshoot their normal range on their return, and are vagrants to northern Europe including Britain. The eastern population is largely resident, though some birds from the northern part of the range fly southwards to Korea, Thailand and Malaysia. The African birds are resident. The purple heron inhabits marshes, lagoons and lakes surrounded by dense vegetation. It may frequent mangrove swamps on the coast but it usually chooses freshwater habitats, particularly locations with reed beds (Phragmites). It also visits mudflats, river banks, ditches and canals. In the Cape Verde Islands, it is more likely to be seen in the open, on arid slopes.

Species Status

Not globally threatened.
Purple Heron (Ardea purpurea) Purple Heron (Ardea purpurea) Photo By Sudipta Nandy , used under CC-BY-SA-4.0 /Cropped and compressed from original

Scientific Classification

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