Black-headed Heron (Ardea melanocephala)

Family
Ardeidae (Herons)

Size
85 cm

First Described (Guide)
Vigors & Children, 1826

Habitat
Marshes with reed and papyrus beds, the margins of rivers and lakes, estuaries, coastal creeks and flats, temporary pools and natural savannas or artificial grasslands, cultivated land.

Range (Guide)

Angola, Benin, Botswana, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Chad, Congo [The Democratic Republic of the], Congo [The Democratic Republic of the], C�te dIvoire, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Gabon, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-bissau, Kenya, Lesotho, Liberia, Malawi, Mali, Mauritania, Mozambique, Namibia, Niger, Nigeria, Rwanda, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Somalia, South Africa, Sudan, Swaziland, Tanzania [United Republic of], Togo, Uganda, Zambia, Zimbabwe.

Vagrant to Egypt, Israel, Jordan, Madagascar, Oman, Yemen.

Unknown to Djibouti.

Africa south of Sahara, from Senegal to Ethiopia and south to South Africa.

Population
Estimated population is 100,000 - 500,000 (2010).

Status LC
Hunting and trapping for trade are the main threats.

For more information see BirdLife International Species Factsheet.

Habits
Usually solitary but occasionally loose flocks. Roots in groups of tens to hundreds.

Food
Terrestrial and aquatic insects, earthworms, crabs, Arachnids, small mammals, lizards, snakes, frogs, birds, fish. Insects are most important during the rains and become less important as grasslands dry out.

Voice
Xeno-Canto Sound Files (more (22)...)

Black-headed Heron (Ardea melanocephala) [XC455447]
by Frank Lambert from Makindu (Hunter's Lodge), Kenya (begging call, call)

Black-headed Heron (Ardea melanocephala) [XC811060]
by James Bradley from West Kolwa (near Kisumu), Kisumu Central, Kisumu County, Kenya (call)

Nest
A platform composed of sticks located high in a trees or in reedbeds, papyrus beds, floating islands of papyrus or on sandstone ledges. In colonies with up to 35 pairs nesting in one tree.

Subspecies
Forms superspecies with Madagascar Heron (Ardea humbloti).

No subspecies.

References
See References.

Files:

JPG files for Black-headed Heron (Ardea melanocephala) - 10 files

More Information

BirdLife International

For more information about the Black-headed Heron see... Show Articles

BirdLife International Species Factsheet.

Articles about the Black-headed Heron

If you would like to read any articles about the Black-headed Heron...

Show Articles (0)

No Pictures of Black-headed Heron

If Birdpedia has no pictures of Black-headed Heron or you would like to see more, then try the following...

Show External Images from BING

From BING (10)

No Videos of Black-headed Heron

If Birdpedia has no videos of Black-headed Heron or you would like to see more, then try the following..

Show External Videos

From BING (0)

Where can I observe this species?

Select an area (or leave blank) to see locations where this species has been recorded.

Area

All

Optional: Complete the following if you wish to restrict the reserve to within a given distance of a location.

Please enter the Latitude and Longitiude of a given location together with the maximum distance (km) to display a list of reserves within that distance. You must enter a Latitude, a Longitude and a distance greater than 0.

Latitude: (Decimal degrees takes precedence)

Deg	Min	Sec			Decimal degrees (Include compass setting or value)
				or	GPS help

Longitude: (Decimal degrees takes precedence)

Deg	Min	Sec			Decimal degrees (Include compass setting or value)
				or	Find GPS using Google Maps

Distance	Bearing
		Get Sample GPS readings

On What Field Trips was this species observed?

Select an area (or leave blank), and a date range, to see field trips on which this species has been recorded.

Area

All

From	To

Latitude: (Decimal degrees takes precedence)

Deg	Min	Sec			Decimal degrees (Include compass setting or value)
				or	GPS help

Longitude: (Decimal degrees takes precedence)

Deg	Min	Sec			Decimal degrees (Include compass setting or value)
				or

Distance	Bearing
		Get Sample GPS readings

Latest Sightings for Black-headed Heron