Bird Album
Green Heron
Butorides virescens (Linnaeus, 1758)
44 cmLength202 gWeight
The green heron (Butorides virescens) is a small heron of North and Central America.
Busiest months: May · Most records: United States, Canada, Costa Rica
Where and when it's recorded
Busiest months: May · Most records: United States, Canada, Costa Rica
Green Heron has been recorded at 1,437 of the 8,276 birding hotspots we track, in 44 countries and regions.
Records by month Northern Hemisphere
Where it's recorded most
- Riparian Preserve at Gilbert Water RanchUnited States17,475 records
- Magee Marsh – BoardwalkUnited States14,829 records
- Sweetwater WetlandsUnited States14,572 records
More places
- Green Cay Wetlands & Nature CenterUnited States12,188 records
- Lake Apopka Wildlife DriveUnited States11,240 records
- South Padre Is. – Birding and Nature CenterUnited States10,165 records
- Merritt Island NWR – Black Point Wildlife DriveUnited States10,088 records
- Sweetwater Wetlands ParkUnited States9,046 records
- Prospect ParkUnited States8,862 records
- Wakodahatchee WetlandsUnited States8,824 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 green heron (Butorides virescens) is a small heron of North and Central America. Butorides is from Middle English butor "bittern" and Ancient Greek -oides, "resembling", and virescens is Latin for "greenish".
Excerpt from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0 · authors · Read more on Wikipedia
Questions
How big is the Green Heron?
The Green Heron is about 44 cm long and weighs around 202 g.
Where does the Green Heron live?
Its breeding range: North America, Middle America: eastern, central USA to Panama. It is most often recorded in United States, Canada and Costa Rica.
When is the best time to see the Green Heron?
At the hotspots we track, it is recorded most in May (Northern Hemisphere).
What does the Green Heron eat?
Main food: Fish, shrimp & shellfish.
What family is the Green Heron in?
It belongs to the family Herons, Bitterns (Ardeidae), order Pelecaniformes.
At a glance
- Length
- 44 cm
- Weight
- 202 g
- Habitat
- Wetland
- Diet
- Fish, shrimp & shellfish
- Lifestyle
- Active on the ground
- Migration
- Resident (barely migrates)
More measurements
- Wing
- 178 mm
- Tail
- 64 mm
- Bill
- 67 mm
- Tarsus
- 52 mm
Averages from the AVONET dataset; length from field guides where available.
Range
North America, Middle America: eastern, central USA to Panama
Breeding range, IOC World Bird List 15.2
Classification
- Order
- Pelecaniformes
- Family
- Herons, Bitterns Ardeidae
- Genus
- Butorides
Other birds in the genus Butorides
Little HeronButorides atricapilla
Striated HeronButorides striata
Lava HeronButorides sundevalli
White-crested Tiger HeronTigriornis leucolopha
Rufescent Tiger HeronTigrisoma lineatum
Bare-throated Tiger HeronTigrisoma mexicanum
Fasciated Tiger HeronTigrisoma fasciatum
Boat-billed HeronCochlearius cochlearius
Agami HeronAgamia agami
Zigzag HeronZebrilus undulatus
Download illustration
Free to use with credit: “Illustration: Bird Album (birdalbum.com)”. Drawn by AI from a reference photo by Juan Miguel Artigas Azas. ↗
Heard it but can't see it? Mingji identifies birds by sound and photo, on your phone.