Ardea purpurea

Taxonomy

Assessment Information

Geographic Range

Habitat and Ecology

Threats

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Taxonomy [top]

Kingdom	Phylum	Class	Order	Family
ANIMALIA	CHORDATA	AVES	CICONIIFORMES	ARDEIDAE

Scientific Name:

Ardea purpurea

Species Authority:

Linnaeus, 1766

Common Name/s:

English	–	Purple Heron
French	–	Héron pourpré

Assessment Information [top]

Red List Category & Criteria:

Least Concern ver 3.1

Year Assessed:

2009

Assessor/s:

BirdLife International

Reviewer/s:

Bird, J., Butchart, S.

Justification:
This species has an extremely large range, and hence does not approach the thresholds for Vulnerable under the range size criterion (Extent of Occurrence <20,000 km2 combined with a declining or fluctuating range size, habitat extent/quality, or population size and a small number of locations or severe fragmentation). Despite the fact that the population trend appears to be decreasing, the decline is not believed to be sufficiently rapid to approach the thresholds for Vulnerable under the population trend criterion (>30% decline over ten years or three generations). The population size is very large, and hence does not approach the thresholds for Vulnerable under the population size criterion (<10,000 mature individuals with a continuing decline estimated to be >10% in ten years or three generations, or with a specified population structure). For these reasons the species is evaluated as Least Concern.

History:

2008	–	Least Concern
2004	–	Least Concern

Geographic Range [top]

Countries:	Native: Afghanistan; Albania; Algeria; Angola; Armenia; Austria; Azerbaijan; Bahrain; Bangladesh; Belarus; Belgium; Benin; Bosnia and Herzegovina; Botswana; Brunei Darussalam; Bulgaria; Burkina Faso; Burundi; Cambodia; Cameroon; Cape Verde; Central African Republic; Chad; China; Congo; Congo, The Democratic Republic of the; Côte d'Ivoire; Croatia; Cyprus; Czech Republic; Djibouti; Egypt; Eritrea; Ethiopia; France; Gabon; Gambia; Georgia; Germany; Ghana; Gibraltar; Greece; Guinea; Guinea-Bissau; Hong Kong; Hungary; India; Indonesia; Iran, Islamic Republic of; Iraq; Israel; Italy; Japan; Jordan; Kazakhstan; Kenya; Korea, Democratic People's Republic of; Korea, Republic of; Kuwait; Kyrgyzstan; Lao People's Democratic Republic; Lebanon; Lesotho; Liberia; Libyan Arab Jamahiriya; Liechtenstein; Macedonia, the former Yugoslav Republic of; Madagascar; Malawi; Malaysia; Maldives; Mali; Malta; Mauritania; Moldova; Montenegro; Morocco; Mozambique; Myanmar; Namibia; Nepal; Netherlands; Niger; Nigeria; Oman; Pakistan; Palestinian Territory, Occupied; Philippines; Poland; Portugal; Qatar; Romania; Russian Federation; Russian Federation; Rwanda; Saudi Arabia; Senegal; Serbia; Seychelles; Sierra Leone; Singapore; Slovakia; Slovenia; Somalia; South Africa; Spain; Sri Lanka; Sudan; Swaziland; Switzerland; Syrian Arab Republic; Taiwan, Province of China; Tajikistan; Tanzania, United Republic of; Thailand; Timor-Leste; Togo; Tunisia; Turkey; Turkmenistan; Uganda; Ukraine; United Arab Emirates; Uzbekistan; Viet Nam; Western Sahara; Yemen; Zambia; Zimbabwe Vagrant: Barbados; Denmark; Faroe Islands; Finland; Iceland; Ireland; Lithuania; Luxembourg; Norway; Russian Federation; Sao Tomé and Principe; Sweden; Trinidad and Tobago; United Kingdom
Range Map:	Click here to open the map viewer and explore range.

Countries:

Native:

Afghanistan; Albania; Algeria; Angola; Armenia; Austria; Azerbaijan; Bahrain; Bangladesh; Belarus; Belgium; Benin; Bosnia and Herzegovina; Botswana; Brunei Darussalam; Bulgaria; Burkina Faso; Burundi; Cambodia; Cameroon; Cape Verde; Central African Republic; Chad; China; Congo; Congo, The Democratic Republic of the; Côte d'Ivoire; Croatia; Cyprus; Czech Republic; Djibouti; Egypt; Eritrea; Ethiopia; France; Gabon; Gambia; Georgia; Germany; Ghana; Gibraltar; Greece; Guinea; Guinea-Bissau; Hong Kong; Hungary; India; Indonesia; Iran, Islamic Republic of; Iraq; Israel; Italy; Japan; Jordan; Kazakhstan; Kenya; Korea, Democratic People's Republic of; Korea, Republic of; Kuwait; Kyrgyzstan; Lao People's Democratic Republic; Lebanon; Lesotho; Liberia; Libyan Arab Jamahiriya; Liechtenstein; Macedonia, the former Yugoslav Republic of; Madagascar; Malawi; Malaysia; Maldives; Mali; Malta; Mauritania; Moldova; Montenegro; Morocco; Mozambique; Myanmar; Namibia; Nepal; Netherlands; Niger; Nigeria; Oman; Pakistan; Palestinian Territory, Occupied; Philippines; Poland; Portugal; Qatar; Romania; Russian Federation; Russian Federation; Rwanda; Saudi Arabia; Senegal; Serbia; Seychelles; Sierra Leone; Singapore; Slovakia; Slovenia; Somalia; South Africa; Spain; Sri Lanka; Sudan; Swaziland; Switzerland; Syrian Arab Republic; Taiwan, Province of China; Tajikistan; Tanzania, United Republic of; Thailand; Timor-Leste; Togo; Tunisia; Turkey; Turkmenistan; Uganda; Ukraine; United Arab Emirates; Uzbekistan; Viet Nam; Western Sahara; Yemen; Zambia; Zimbabwe

Vagrant:

Barbados; Denmark; Faroe Islands; Finland; Iceland; Ireland; Lithuania; Luxembourg; Norway; Russian Federation; Sao Tomé and Principe; Sweden; Trinidad and Tobago; United Kingdom

Range Map:

Click here to open the map viewer and explore range.

Habitat and Ecology [top]

Habitat and Ecology:	Behaviour Populations breeding in the western Palearctic are migratory¹ and travel on a broad front between breeding and wintering grounds². African and tropical-Asian populations are largely sedentary however, occasionally making local dispersive movements¹. The species breeds from April to June in the western Palearctic, during the rains in Africa, and from June to October in the north of India or November to March in the south of India¹. It is a colonial breeder^{1, 2, 3, 4} and although nesting group sizes are usually small (e.g. 2-3 pairs per colony in Africa) and rarely exceed 50 pairs³, colonies of up to 1,000 pairs have been recorded in some areas^{1, 4}. It often also nests on the periphery of colonies of other heron species such as Grey Heron Ardea cinerea². In migratory populations the autumn migration occurs from August to October⁴, with the return passage in the spring beginning in March⁴. On migration the species commonly occurs in small groups (the maximum recorded migratory groups sizes being 300-400 individuals)¹ and throughout the year it will roost communally by day and by night⁴ in groups of up to 100 individuals⁵ although it generally feeds solitarily^{1, 4}. The species is mainly crepuscular, but may also feed diurnally¹. Habitat The species inhabits wetlands from sea level to 1,800 m (Madagascar)¹, showing a preference for dense, flooded, freshwater reedbeds (Phragmites spp.) in temperate areas (occupying Typha, Scirpus and Papyrus swamps elsewhere)². It also utilises lake shores, river margins¹, ditches, canals, brackish water lagoons², rice-fields, mangroves and coastal mudflats¹. Diet Its diet consists of fish 5-15 cm long¹ (occasionally up to 55 cm), salamanders², frogs, insects¹ (e.g. beetles, dragonflies, hemiptera² and locusts⁴), crustaceans¹, spiders² and molluscs⁴ as well as small birds and mammals, snakes and lizards¹. Breeding site The nest is a platform of reeds stems or sticks² positioned over or beside water up to 3 m high in flooded reedbeds¹, 3-4 m high in thickets or mangroves² or up to 25 m high in trees¹. The species usually nests in loose single- or mixed-species colonies with Grey Heron Ardea cinerea, and although colony sizes are usually small, large groups of up to 1,000 pairs have been recorded^{1, 4} (the colony size depends on the size of the area of marshland)². Management information Studies in southern France have shown that the overall conservation of this species in Europe is favoured by maintaining large uncut reedbeds with relatively high spring water levels⁷.
Systems:	Terrestrial; Freshwater; Marine

Habitat and Ecology:

Behaviour Populations breeding in the western Palearctic are migratory¹ and travel on a broad front between breeding and wintering grounds². African and tropical-Asian populations are largely sedentary however, occasionally making local dispersive movements¹. The species breeds from April to June in the western Palearctic, during the rains in Africa, and from June to October in the north of India or November to March in the south of India¹. It is a colonial breeder^{1, 2, 3, 4} and although nesting group sizes are usually small (e.g. 2-3 pairs per colony in Africa) and rarely exceed 50 pairs³, colonies of up to 1,000 pairs have been recorded in some areas^{1, 4}. It often also nests on the periphery of colonies of other heron species such as Grey Heron Ardea cinerea². In migratory populations the autumn migration occurs from August to October⁴, with the return passage in the spring beginning in March⁴. On migration the species commonly occurs in small groups (the maximum recorded migratory groups sizes being 300-400 individuals)¹ and throughout the year it will roost communally by day and by night⁴ in groups of up to 100 individuals⁵ although it generally feeds solitarily^{1, 4}. The species is mainly crepuscular, but may also feed diurnally¹. Habitat The species inhabits wetlands from sea level to 1,800 m (Madagascar)¹, showing a preference for dense, flooded, freshwater reedbeds (Phragmites spp.) in temperate areas (occupying Typha, Scirpus and Papyrus swamps elsewhere)². It also utilises lake shores, river margins¹, ditches, canals, brackish water lagoons², rice-fields, mangroves and coastal mudflats¹. Diet Its diet consists of fish 5-15 cm long¹ (occasionally up to 55 cm), salamanders², frogs, insects¹ (e.g. beetles, dragonflies, hemiptera² and locusts⁴), crustaceans¹, spiders² and molluscs⁴ as well as small birds and mammals, snakes and lizards¹. Breeding site The nest is a platform of reeds stems or sticks² positioned over or beside water up to 3 m high in flooded reedbeds¹, 3-4 m high in thickets or mangroves² or up to 25 m high in trees¹. The species usually nests in loose single- or mixed-species colonies with Grey Heron Ardea cinerea, and although colony sizes are usually small, large groups of up to 1,000 pairs have been recorded^{1, 4} (the colony size depends on the size of the area of marshland)². Management information Studies in southern France have shown that the overall conservation of this species in Europe is favoured by maintaining large uncut reedbeds with relatively high spring water levels⁷.

Systems:

Terrestrial; Freshwater; Marine

Threats [top]

Major Threat(s):	The main threat to this species in Europe is the loss of reedbeds though direct elimination (to reduce sedimentation)², agricultural encroachment⁶, water management practices² (e.g. drainage)⁶ and reed cane harvesting².

Major Threat(s):

The main threat to this species in Europe is the loss of reedbeds though direct elimination (to reduce sedimentation)², agricultural encroachment⁶, water management practices² (e.g. drainage)⁶ and reed cane harvesting².

Citation:	BirdLife International 2009. Ardea purpurea. In: IUCN 2011. IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Version 2011.2. <www.iucnredlist.org>. Downloaded on 04 February 2012.
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