# Grey heron (*Ardea cinerea*)

Canonical page: https://creaturedata.com/animals/grey-heron  
Data as of: 2026-11-11

The grey heron (Ardea cinerea), also called Gray heron, is a bird of the family Ardeidae in the order Pelecaniformes. It is a medium-sized bird with an adult body mass of 1.44 kg (from 1.36 to 1.51 kg across sources) and a wingspan of 1.73 m. The grey heron is a carnivorous aquatic predator of wetland habitats, with a terrestrial lifestyle, sedentary migration behaviour and a geographic range of 46,420,000 km². It lays one clutch per year of 4.3 eggs, incubated for 25.5 days, reaches sexual maturity at 2 years, and is listed as Least Concern by the IUCN.

## Quick facts

| Fact | Value |
|---|---|
| Weight | 1.36 kg – 1.51 kg |
| Length | Not recorded |
| Wingspan | 1.73 m |
| Lifespan | 30.3 years |
| Diet | Aquatic predator |
| Longest recorded lifespan | 37.5 years |
| Main food | Not recorded |
| Habitat | wetland |
| Egg incubation | 25.5 days |
| Young per litter or clutch | 3.9 – 4.31 |
| Age at maturity | 2 years |
| Litters or clutches a year | 1 |
| Reproduction | Eggs |
| Lifestyle | Terrestrial |
| Migration | Sedentary |
| Conservation status | Least Concern (IUCN) |
| Countries on record | Not recorded |

## Classification

- kingdom: Animalia
- phylum: Chordata
- class: Aves
- order: Pelecaniformes
- family: Ardeidae
- genus: Ardea
- species: *Ardea cinerea* Linnaeus, 1758

## Common questions

### What kind of animal is the grey heron?

The grey heron is a bird in the family Ardeidae, order Pelecaniformes.

### How heavy is a grey heron?

An adult Grey heron weighs 1.44 kg, with values from 1.36 to 1.51 kg reported by sources. Its wingspan is 1.73 m.

### What does the grey heron eat?

The grey heron is an aquatic predator and a carnivore.

### What habitat does the grey heron live in?

The grey heron lives in wetland habitat.

### Is the grey heron endangered?

No. The grey heron is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List, which is not a threatened category.

### How long does a grey heron live?

The grey heron has a lifespan of 30.25 years, with values up to 37.5 years reported by sources.

### How many eggs does a grey heron lay?

The grey heron lays 4.3 eggs per clutch and one clutch per year. The eggs are incubated for 25.5 days.

### Who named the grey heron?

The grey heron, Ardea cinerea, was named by Linnaeus, 1758.

## Sources

- [An amniote life-history database to perform comparative analyses with birds, mammals, and reptiles](https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.3563457.v1), 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](https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.16586228.v7), 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](https://www.checklistbank.org/dataset/316691), 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](https://commons.wikimedia.org), 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](https://www.wikidata.org), CC0 1.0, 2026-11-11. Wikidata contributors. Wikidata. https://www.wikidata.org (data retrieved via the Wikidata Query Service).
- [Wikipedia (English)](https://en.wikipedia.org), 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).

Cite as: Grey heron (Ardea cinerea). Retrieved from https://creaturedata.com/animals/grey-heron