Grey Heron (Ardea cinerea)

(95 cm.)Field marks:  large, long bill and legs, grayish plumage
   苍鹭 – cāng-lù – ‘dark blue heron’

The Grey Heron is one of the largest members of the heron family, “Ardeidae”, in China. It is a widespread species found in Africa and throughout temperate Europe and Asia. Only two other herons in China are of a similar size, the even larger and quite dark Purple Heron and the similarly sized, but all white, Great Egret. The greyish, yellow-billed Grey Heron is quite easy to distinguish from these other large members of its family.

Like all herons, egrets, and bitterns, this species flies with its head retracted to its body in an “s” shape, distinguishing it from other large flying waders such as storks and cranes.

The Grey Heron is a voracious eater armed with a lethal, dagger-like bill, and it wreaks havoc on the aquatic life of its watery habitat. It is not picky about the food it consumes and will snatch frogs, lizards, insects, fish, snakes, plovers, ducklings, and other small birds and their chicks. This species is usually a solitary hunter which usually stands in the shallow water of streams, lakes and ponds waiting motionlessly for prey to stray within striking range. They will also actively stalk other prey choices.

Like all herons, this species is a colony nester. It builds a solid and bulky nest of sticks which is situated in a tree close to the edge of a lake, marsh, or even a seaside.

The Grey Heron is described as locally common throughout its large range, meaning that in certain locations the bird may be uncommon or even rare, while in other places it is a common sight and easily found. 

Photo by JJ Harrison



Chinese Pond Heron (Ardeola Bacchus)

(47 cm.) Breeding season: Small heron; white wings; head, neck and breast dark brown; white underparts Winter: Heavily streaked brown heron; white with brown back in flight

The Chinese Pond Heron is one of a large family of mostly freshwater birds, “Ardeidae”, that includes many long-legged species such as herons, egrets and bitterns that stalk fish and other aquatic species in rivers, ponds, and lakes. All members of this family are closely related and share similar habits of living despite often being called “herons” or “egrets” or “bitterns”. All these birds are equipped with adaptations that allow them to be successful hunters in their watery habitats such as long necks and long sharp bills that they use to spear fish, frogs, lizards and other species of vertebrate and invertebrate prey.

Herons can easily be confused with other long-legged bird species such as cranes, ibises, and storks, but they do have generally sharper, more dagger-like bills, and in flight, herons pull their necks in towards their bodies, while these other birds fly with necks stretched out.

The Chinese Pond Heron, although large, is a medium-sized bird of its family. Some members of the family such as the Grey Heron is 92 cm. long. It is called a “pond heron”  due to its particular fondness for ponds as hunting grounds. In China, it is often found in the rice fields of the south.

The Chinese Pond Heron is a striking bird in the breeding season with a dark brown head and neck contrasting with its white breast and belly and blue back.

This bird will frequent both fresh and salt water ponds and wetlands. This species' diet consists of the fish, insects and crustaceans.

This species, like other herons, is a community nester in the breeding season. It forms loose colonies of nesting birds often including other species of herons. These community nesting places are often called, “heronries” The female Chinese Pond Heron usually lays a clutch of 3-6 blue-green eggs. The breeding range consists of the eastern half of China from approximately Jilin Province in the north to around Fujian Province in the south and extending westwards to Sichuan Province

Photo by Brian Westland