Habitat
Coastal and inland freshwater and saline waters, with a preference for shallow water along the shores of lakes, rivers, lagoons. Alsomarshes, tidal estuaries, reefs, mangrove creeks and waterholes in woodland savanna.
Angola, Bangladesh, Benin, Botswana, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Chad, Congo [The Democratic Republic of the], Congo [The Democratic Republic of the], Côte dIvoire, Djibouti, Egypt, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Gabon, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-bissau, India, Iran [Islamic Republic of] (B) (NB), Iraq (B) (NB), Kenya, Lesotho, Malawi, Mali, Mauritania, Mozambique, Myanmar, Namibia, Niger, Nigeria, Pakistan, Rwanda, Saudi Arabia (B) (NB), Senegal, Sierra Leone, Somalia, South Africa, Sri Lanka, Sudan, Swaziland, Tanzania [United Republic of], Togo, Uganda, Yemen (NB), Zambia, Zimbabwe.
Vagrant to Jordan, Liberia, Oman, Syrian Arab Republic.
Africa south of Sahara, southern Iraq and southern Iran, with some non breeders along Red Sea; breeding also inferred at scattered sites on Indian Subcontinent from Pakistan to Bangladesh and southern into Sri Lanka.
Rarity Status
Currently this species is not classified as a rarity in this country OR information has not been updated.
Population
Estimated population is 10,000 - 100,000 (2010).
Goliath Heron (Ardea goliath) [XC248014]
by Derek Solomon from Peddie (near Hamburg), Amatole, Eastern Cape, South Africa (flight call)
Goliath Heron (Ardea goliath) [XC722271]
by id from Chiredzi, Masvingo Province, Zimbabwe (flight call)
Nest
A platform composed of sticks or reeds located less than 3 m high in a tree over water, on partly submerged trees, low bushes, mangroves, cliffs, sedges, papyrus, reeds or on bare ground.
BirdLife International Species Factsheet