Black heron
Egretta ardesiaca (Wagler, 1827)
The black heron (Egretta ardesiaca) is a species in the family Ardeidae, order Pelecaniformes. Recorded adults weigh 324 g to 327 g. Its IUCN Red List status is Least Concern.
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Quick facts about the black heron
- Weight
- 324 gsrc for Weight
- Length
- Not recorded
- Lifespan
- Not recorded
- Diet
- Aquatic predatorsrc for Diet
- Main food
- Not recorded
- Habitat
- wetlandsrc for Habitat
- Young per litter or clutch
- 2.68 – 2.8src for Young per litter or clutch
- Lifestyle
- Terrestrialsrc for Lifestyle
- Migration
- Sedentarysrc for Migration
- Conservation status
- Least Concern (IUCN)src for Conservation status
- Countries on record
- Not recorded
Where does the black heron live?
Not recorded
What is the black heron?
The black heron (Egretta ardesiaca), also known as the black egret, is an African heron. It uses its wings to form a canopy when fishing.
From the Wikipedia article “Black heron” (en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Black_heron&oldid=1373582083), by Wikipedia contributors, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0 (creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0). This block is kept separate from our own text.
Is the black heron endangered?
The black heron is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List: it is not currently at risk of extinction.
- LCLeast Concern
- NTNear Threatened
- VUVulnerable
- ENEndangered
- CRCritically Endangered
- EWExtinct in the Wild
- EXExtinct
Category via Wikidata (CC0). Find the full assessment on the IUCN Red List. See all Least Concern species.
How is the black heron classified?
- kingdomAnimalia
- phylumChordata
- classAves
- orderPelecaniformes
- familyArdeidae
- genusEgretta
- SpeciesEgretta ardesiaca (Wagler, 1827)
Synonyms Ardea ardesiaca, Hydranassa ardesiaca, Melanophoryx ardesiaca, Melanophoyx ardesiaca
Other names and names in other languages (50)
- Black egretEnglish
- Black egretEnglish
- BLHEEnglish
- UmbrellabirdEnglish
- SwartreierAfrikaans
- بلشون أسودArabic
- بلشون اسودArabic
- Черна чаплаBulgarian
- Herlegon duBreton
- martinet negreCatalan
- volavka černáCzech
- crëyr duWelsh
- SkyggehejreDanish
- GlockenreiherGerman
- ΜαυροτσικνιάςGreek
- nigra egretardeoEsperanto
- Garceta NegraSpanish
- Garceta azabacheSpanish
- nõgihaigurEstonian
- varjostajahaikaraFinnish
- Aigrette ardoiséeFrench
- Corr dhubhIrish
- Coar ghooManx
- לבנית כההHebrew
- crna čapljaCroatian
- haranggémHungarian
- SvarthegriIcelandic
- Airone neroItalian
- Airone ardesiaItalian
- クロコサギJapanese
- juodasis garnysLithuanian
- melnais gārnisLatvian
- LombokohomanaMalagasy
- zwarte reigerDutch
- skyggehegreNorwegian
- czapla czarnaPolish
- garça-pretaPortuguese
- Чёрная цапляRussian
- Зонтичная цапляRussian
- SuoivanháigirNorthern Sami
- volavka čiernaSlovak
- črna čapljaSlovenian
- Velika crna čapljaSerbian
- svarthägerSwedish
- Kara BalıkçılTurkish
- seKhukoTswana
- чепура чорнаUkrainian
- 黑鷺Chinese
- 黑鹭Chinese
- iKuwelaZulu
Catalogue of LifeWikipediaiNaturalistTAXREFWikidataWoRMSIUCN Red List
Relatives of the black heron
Other species in the same genus Egretta.
Little egret
Egretta garzetta
Western reef heron
Egretta gularis
Pacific reef heron
Egretta sacra
Snowy egret
Egretta thula
Tricolored heron
Egretta tricolor
Little blue heron
Egretta caerulea
CompareBlack heron vs Little egretBlack heron vs Western reef heronBlack heron vs Pacific reef heronBlack heron vs Snowy egret
Common questions
Answered only where our data holds the answer.
How big is the black heron?
An adult black heron weighs 324 g, according to values recorded on Wikidata.
Is the black heron endangered?
The black heron is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List, meaning it is not currently at risk of extinction.
What kind of animal is the black heron?
The black heron (Egretta ardesiaca) belongs to the family Ardeidae in the order Pelecaniformes.
Sources and how to cite this page
Data as of 2026-11-11. How this page is put together.
- An amniote life-history database to perform comparative analyses with birds, mammals, and reptiles · CC0 1.0 · E096-269
Myhrvold, N.P., Baldridge, E., Chan, B., Sivam, D., Freeman, D.L. & Ernest, S.K.M. (2015) An amniote life-history database to perform comparative analyses with birds, mammals, and reptiles. Ecology 96: 3109. https://doi.org/10.1890/15-0846R.1. Data: https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.3563457.v1 - AVONET: morphological, ecological and geographical data for all birds · CC BY 4.0 · v7
Tobias, J.A. et al. (2022) AVONET: morphological, ecological and geographical data for all birds. Ecology Letters 25: 581–597. https://doi.org/10.1111/ele.13898. Data: https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.16586228.v7 - Catalogue of Life eXtended Release · CC BY 4.0 · 2026-10-16 XR
Catalogue of Life (2026). Catalogue of Life eXtended Release, version 2026-10-16 XR. Catalogue of Life Foundation, Amsterdam, Netherlands. https://doi.org/10.48580/dgzlf - Wikimedia Commons · per file (CC0 / public domain / CC BY green, CC BY-SA amber, anything else not displayed) · 2026-11-11
Wikimedia Commons contributors. Wikimedia Commons. https://commons.wikimedia.org (each file credited to its author under its own licence). - Wikidata · CC0 1.0 · 2026-11-11
Wikidata contributors. Wikidata. https://www.wikidata.org (data retrieved via the Wikidata Query Service). - Wikipedia (English) · CC BY-SA 4.0 · 2026-11-11
Wikipedia contributors. Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. https://en.wikipedia.org (text under CC BY-SA 4.0; each block names its article and revision).
Embed a card for this animal on your own site
Copy this code. The card shows the photo with its credit, key facts and a link back to this page.
CreatureData. (2026). Black heron (Egretta ardesiaca). Retrieved from https://creaturedata.com/animals/black-heron
“Black heron (Egretta ardesiaca).” CreatureData, 2026, https://creaturedata.com/animals/black-heron.
@misc{black_heron_2026,
title = {Black heron (Egretta ardesiaca)},
author = {{CreatureData}},
year = {2026},
url = {https://creaturedata.com/animals/black-heron},
note = {Data as of 2026-11-11}
}