Anguilla, Antigua and Barbuda, Aruba, Bahamas, Barbados, Belize, Canada (B), Cayman Islands, Costa Rica, Cuba, Dominica, Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Grenada, Guadeloupe, Guatemala, Haiti, Honduras, Jamaica (B), Martinique, Mexico, Montserrat, Netherlands Antilles, Nicaragua, Panama, Puerto Rico (B), St Kitts and Nevis, St Lucia, St Vincent and The Grenadines, Trinidad and Tobago, Turks and Caicos Islands, USA (B), Venezuela, Virgin Islands (British) (B) (NB), Virgin Islands (U.S.) (B) (NB).
Vagrant to Greenland, Portugal, St Pierre and Miquelon (P), United Kingdom.
Central USA and eastern Canada to Panama and Caribbean.
 
Population
Estimated population is unknown (2010).
Green Heron (Butorides virescens) [XC317604]
by Paul Marvin from Laguna Palo verde, Cuyutlan, Armer\u00eda Municipality, Colima, Mexico (call)
Green Heron (Butorides virescens) [XC253773]
by Peter Boesman from Arcata, Humboldt County, California, United States (wing noise display)
Subspecies
Considered by some authors to be a subspecies of Green-backed Heron (Butorides striata).
The following 4 subspecies are recognised:
anthonyi (Mearns, 1895) - Western USA, northern Baja California. Considered by some authors to be a subspecies of Green-backed Heron (Butorides striata).
frazari (Brewster, 1888) - Southern Baja California. Considered by some authors to be a subspecies of Green-backed Heron (Butorides striata).
virescens (Linnaeus, 1758) - Eastern and central USA to Panama. Considered by some authors to be a subspecies of Green-backed Heron (Butorides striata).
bahamensis (Brewster, 1888) - Bahamas. Considered by some authors to be a subspecies of Green-backed Heron (Butorides striata).