Goliath Heron

Ardea goliath Cretzschmar, 1829

4.5 kgWeight

The Goliath heron (Ardea goliath), also known as the giant heron, is a very large wading bird in the heron family, Ardeidae.

Busiest months: October–November · Most records: South Africa, Kenya, Uganda

Least Concern

Where and when it's recorded

Busiest months: October–November · Most records: South Africa, Kenya, Uganda

Goliath Heron has been recorded at 349 of the 8,276 birding hotspots we track, in 37 countries and regions.

Records by month Southern Hemisphere

Where it's recorded most

Amboseli NPKenya929 records
Marievale Bird SanctuarySouth Africa727 records
Murchison Falls NP – Boat trip Paraa to Murchison FallsUganda407 records

More places

Lake BaringoKenya401 records
Chobe River – boat tripBotswana367 records
Bwabwata NP – Mahango riverside loopNamibia356 records
Lake NaivashaKenya329 records
Queen Elizabeth II NP – Kazinga Channel Boat TripUganda305 records
St Lucia – iMfolozi River mouthSouth Africa297 records
Mkhuze GRSouth Africa279 records

Countries and regions with the most records

South Africa Kenya Uganda Botswana Namibia Zambia Tanzania Ethiopia

eBird records via GBIF up to 2024-12-31. A record means someone listed it; more records partly mean more birders, not more birds.

About

The Goliath heron (Ardea goliath), also known as the giant heron, is a very large wading bird in the heron family, Ardeidae. It is primarily found in sub-Saharan Africa, with smaller, declining numbers in Southwest and South Asia. Asian records are now very rare, but it is still known as an occasional vagrant.

Excerpt from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0 · authors · Read more on Wikipedia

Questions

How big is the Goliath Heron?

The Goliath Heron weighs around 4.5 kg.

Where does the Goliath Heron live?

Its breeding range: Africa, Palearctic: widespread in Africa south of the Sahara, Iran and Iraq to India. It is most often recorded in South Africa, Kenya and Uganda.