Bird Album
Great-billed Heron
Ardea sumatrana Raffles, 1822
2 kgWeight
The great-billed heron (Ardea sumatrana) is a wading bird of the heron family, resident from southeast Asia to Papua New Guinea and Australia.
Most records: Singapore, Australia, Malaysia
Where and when it's recorded
Great-billed Heron has been recorded at 115 of the 8,171 birding hotspots we track, in 8 countries and regions.
Records by month Northern Hemisphere
Where it's recorded most
- Daintree Village Boat CruiseAustralia1,155 records
- Sungei Buloh Wetland ReserveSingapore933 records
- Pulau Ubin: Chek Jawa WetlandsSingapore511 records
More places
- Pulau UbinSingapore509 records
- Kakadu National Park – Yellow WaterAustralia301 records
- Danum Valley Borneo Rainforest LodgeMalaysia174 records
- Seletar DamSingapore122 records
- Buffalo CreekAustralia91 records
- Sungei Buloh Wetland Reserve - East inc. Kranji Nature TrailSingapore78 records
- Marina EastSingapore76 records
Countries and regions with the most records
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 great-billed heron (Ardea sumatrana) is a wading bird of the heron family, resident from southeast Asia to Papua New Guinea and Australia.
Excerpt from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0 · authors · Read more on Wikipedia
Questions
How big is the Great-billed Heron?
The Great-billed Heron weighs around 2 kg.
Where does the Great-billed Heron live?
Its breeding range: Oriental, Australasia: Southeast Asia and western Philippines to northern Australia and New Guinea. It is most often recorded in Singapore, Australia and Malaysia.
Is the Great-billed Heron endangered?
The IUCN Red List classifies the Great-billed Heron as Least Concern.
What does the Great-billed Heron eat?
Main food: Fish, shrimp & shellfish.
What family is the Great-billed Heron in?
It belongs to the family Herons, Bitterns (Ardeidae), order Pelecaniformes.
At a glance
- Weight
- 2 kg
- Habitat
- Coast & tidal flats
- Diet
- Fish, shrimp & shellfish
- Lifestyle
- Active on the ground
- Migration
- Resident (barely migrates)
- Conservation
- Least Concern
More measurements
- Wing
- 454 mm
- Tail
- 160 mm
- Bill
- 173 mm
- Tarsus
- 157 mm
Averages from the AVONET dataset; length from field guides where available.
Range
Oriental, Australasia: Southeast Asia and western Philippines to northern Australia and New Guinea
Breeding range, IOC World Bird List 15.2
Classification
- Order
- Pelecaniformes
- Family
- Herons, Bitterns Ardeidae
- Genus
- Ardea
Other birds in the genus Ardea
White-necked HeronArdea pacifica
Great EgretArdea alba
Yellow-billed EgretArdea brachyrhyncha
Medium EgretArdea intermedia
Plumed EgretArdea plumifera
Western Cattle EgretArdea ibis
Eastern Cattle EgretArdea coromanda
Grey HeronArdea cinerea
Great Blue HeronArdea herodias
Cocoi HeronArdea cocoi
Purple HeronArdea purpurea
Humblot's HeronArdea humbloti
Download illustration
Free to use with credit: “Illustration: Bird Album (birdalbum.com)”. Drawn by AI from a reference photo by ou.wildlife. ↗
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