CreatureData

Capped heron

Pilherodius pileatus (Boddaert, 1783)

LCLeast Concernbirds

The capped heron (Pilherodius pileatus) is a species in the family Ardeidae, order Pelecaniformes. Recorded adults weigh 523.8 g to 610 g. Its IUCN Red List status is Least Concern.

Capped heron (Pilherodius pileatus)
Photo: derivative work: Snowmanradio ( talk ) Ave_branca.JPG : Jozeias3d · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons

Quick facts about the capped heron

Weight
523.8 g – 610 gsrc for Weight
Length
Not recorded
Lifespan
Not recorded
Diet
Aquatic predatorsrc for Diet
Main food
Not recorded
Habitat
wetlandsrc for Habitat
Egg incubation
26.5 dayssrc for Egg incubation
Young per litter or clutch
3.5src 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 capped heron live?

Not recorded

What is the capped heron?

Quoted from WikipediaCC BY-SA 4.0

The capped heron (Pilherodius pileatus) is a water bird endemic to the neotropics, inhabiting rainforest from the center of Panama to the south of Brazil. It is the only species of the genus Pilherodius, and one of the least known of the heron family, Ardeidae. It is superficially similar to the group of the night herons, but is active during daytime or at twilight.

From the Wikipedia article “Capped heron” (en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Capped_heron&oldid=1381601499), 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 capped heron endangered?

The capped heron is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List: it is not currently at risk of extinction.

  1. LCLeast Concern
  2. NTNear Threatened
  3. VUVulnerable
  4. ENEndangered
  5. CRCritically Endangered
  6. EWExtinct in the Wild
  7. EXExtinct

Category via Wikidata (CC0). Find the full assessment on the IUCN Red List. See all Least Concern species.

How is the capped heron classified?

  1. kingdomAnimalia
  2. phylumChordata
  3. classAves
  4. orderPelecaniformes
  5. familyArdeidae
  6. genusPilherodius
  7. SpeciesPilherodius pileatus (Boddaert, 1783)

Synonyms Ardea pileata, Ardea pileata, Nycticorax pileatus, Nycticorax pileatus pileatus, Nyctocorax pileatus

Other names and names in other languages (38)
  • بلشون ذو القبعةArabic
  • Чернотеменна чаплаBulgarian
  • martinet becblauCatalan
  • volavka černohlaváCzech
  • KalothejreDanish
  • KappenreiherGerman
  • nigraĉapa ardeoEsperanto
  • garza pileadaSpanish
  • garcilla peinadaSpanish
  • Garcita RealSpanish
  • Garza capirotadaSpanish
  • Garza realSpanish
  • tanuhaigurEstonian
  • kalottihaikaraFinnish
  • Héron coifféFrench
  • Aigrette coifféeFrench
  • Hoko sa'yjuGuarani
  • bijeli gakCroatian
  • kucsmás gémHungarian
  • Airone pileatoItalian
  • Airone dal cappuccioItalian
  • シロゴイサギJapanese
  • Pietų Amerikos naktikovisLithuanian
  • KapreigerDutch
  • kalotthegreNorwegian
  • czapla modrolicaPolish
  • Garça-realPortuguese
  • garça-de-barretePortuguese
  • garça-real-neotropicalPortuguese
  • Капюшоновая цапляRussian
  • Южноамериканская квакваRussian
  • volavka čiapočkatáSlovak
  • Kapasta čapljaSerbian
  • svartkronad hägerSwedish
  • Başlıklı Ak BalıkçılTurkish
  • чапля неотропічнаUkrainian
  • 嘯鷺Chinese
  • 蓝嘴黑顶鹭Chinese

Catalogue of LifeWikipediaiNaturalistTAXREFWikidataIUCN Red List

Relatives of the capped heron

Other species in the same family Ardeidae.

CompareCapped heron vs Grey heronCapped heron vs Great egretCapped heron vs Black-crowned night heronCapped heron vs Western cattle egret

Common questions

Answered only where our data holds the answer.

How big is the capped heron?

An adult capped heron weighs 523.8 g – 610 g, according to values recorded on Wikidata.

Is the capped heron endangered?

The capped 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 capped heron?

The capped heron (Pilherodius pileatus) 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.

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APA

CreatureData. (2026). Capped heron (Pilherodius pileatus). Retrieved from https://creaturedata.com/animals/capped-heron

MLA

“Capped heron (Pilherodius pileatus).” CreatureData, 2026, https://creaturedata.com/animals/capped-heron.

BibTeX
@misc{capped_heron_2026,
  title = {Capped heron (Pilherodius pileatus)},
  author = {{CreatureData}},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://creaturedata.com/animals/capped-heron},
  note = {Data as of 2026-11-11}
}