Great Blue Heron
Ardea herodias
- Family
- Herons, Egrets, and Bitterns (Ardeidae)
- Order
- Pelecaniformes
Overview
The great blue heron (Ardea herodias) is a large wading bird in the heron family (Ardeidae), common near shores of open water and wetlands over most of North and Central America, as well as Northwestern South America, the Caribbean, and the Galápagos Islands. It is occasionally found in the Azores and is a rare vagrant to Europe. An all-white population found in South Florida, the Florida Keys, and the Caribbean islands, is known as the great white heron. Debate exists about whether these white birds are a color morph of the great blue heron, a subspecies of it, or an entirely separate species.
Summary from Wikipedia, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Range and habitat
Continents
Sources and further reading
- Wikipedia: Great blue heron
- eBird: sightings, maps and photos
- xeno-canto: sound recordings
- Birds of the World: full species account (subscription)
- IUCN Red List (threat status)
- AviList global checklist (taxonomy)
Last updated September 29, 2026.