CreatureData

Javan pond heron

Ardeola speciosa (Horsfield, 1821)

LCLeast Concernbirds

The javan pond heron (Ardeola speciosa) is a species in the family Ardeidae, order Pelecaniformes. Recorded adults weigh about 253 g. Its IUCN Red List status is Least Concern.

Javan pond heron (Ardeola speciosa)
Photo: Ariefrahman · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons

Quick facts about the javan pond heron

Weight
253 gsrc for Weight
Length
Not recorded
Wingspan
81 cmsrc for Wingspan
Lifespan
Not recorded
Diet
Aquatic predatorsrc for Diet
Main food
Not recorded
Habitat
wetlandsrc for Habitat
Young per litter or clutch
3 – 3.2src for Young per litter or clutch
Lifestyle
Terrestrialsrc for Lifestyle
Migration
Partialsrc for Migration
Conservation status
Least Concern (IUCN)src for Conservation status
Countries on record
Not recorded

How big is the javan pond heron?

JAVAN POND HERON · WINGSPAN 81 CMADULT HUMAN · HEIGHT 1.7 M
At 81 cm, the recorded maximum wingspan of the javan pond heron is about 48% of the height of an adult human (1.7 m, a fixed reference used for scale).

Where does the javan pond heron live?

Not recorded

What is the javan pond heron?

Quoted from WikipediaCC BY-SA 4.0

The Javan pond heron (Ardeola speciosa) is a wading bird of the heron family, found in shallow fresh and salt-water wetlands in Southeast Asia. Its diet comprises insects, fish, and crabs.

The Javan pond heron is typically 45 cm long with white wings, a yellow bill with a black tip, yellow eyes and legs. Its overall colour is orange, slaty and white during mating season, and brown and flecked with white out of the mating season. The non-breeding plumage is similar to that of the Chinese and Indian pond herons and is virtually indistinguishable in the field. It breeds from June to September. It is migratory.

Widespread throughout its large range, the Javan pond heron is evaluated as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species.

From the Wikipedia article “Javan pond heron” (en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Javan_pond_heron&oldid=1379852283), 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 javan pond heron endangered?

The javan pond 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. What the categories mean.

How is the javan pond heron classified?

  1. kingdomAnimalia
  2. phylumChordata
  3. classAves
  4. orderPelecaniformes
  5. familyArdeidae
  6. genusArdeola
  7. SpeciesArdeola speciosa (Horsfield, 1821)

Synonyms Ardea speciosa, Buphus pseudoralloides

Other names and names in other languages (47)
  • Javan pond-heronEnglish
  • Javan pond-heronEnglish
  • Javan pond-heronEnglish
  • Javanese pond heronEnglish
  • بلشون البرك الجاويArabic
  • بلشون البحيرات الجاويArabic
  • Индонезийска гривеста чаплаBulgarian
  • martinet ros malaiCatalan
  • Martinet ros de MalàisiaCatalan
  • volavka nádhernáCzech
  • crëyr pyllau JafaWelsh
  • Indonesisk RishejreDanish
  • PrachtreiherGerman
  • java ralardeoEsperanto
  • Indonezia ralardeoEsperanto
  • Garcilla indonesiaSpanish
  • sunda tiigihaigurEstonian
  • jaavanriisihaikaraFinnish
  • Crabier malaisFrench
  • bjelokrila čapljaCroatian
  • pompás indonéz üstökösgémHungarian
  • BlekokIndonesian
  • Blekok sawahIndonesian
  • Kuntul sawahIndonesian
  • Sgarza di GiavaItalian
  • ジャワアカガシラサギJapanese
  • javinis kūdrinis garnysLithuanian
  • Burung Puchong JawaMalay
  • Javaanse RalreigerDutch
  • damhegreNorwegian
  • czapla okazałaPolish
  • جاوی چھپڑ بگلاWestern Panjabi
  • Garcinha-indonésiaPortuguese
  • papa-ratos-indonésioPortuguese
  • papa-ratos-javanêsPortuguese
  • Малайская жёлтая цапляRussian
  • Малайская прудовая цапляRussian
  • čaplička rybníkováSlovak
  • Javanska žuta čapljaSerbian
  • BelekokSundanese
  • svartryggig hägerSwedish
  • นกยางกรอกพันธุ์ชวาThai
  • Malay Alaca BalıkçılıTurkish
  • чапля яванськаUkrainian
  • Cò bợ Mã LaiVietnamese
  • 爪哇池鷺Chinese
  • 爪哇池鹭Chinese

Catalogue of LifeWikipediaiNaturalistWikidataIUCN Red List

Relatives of the javan pond heron

Other species in the same genus Ardeola.

CompareJavan pond heron vs Squacco heronJavan pond heron vs Indian pond heronJavan pond heron vs Chinese pond heronJavan pond heron vs Malagasy pond heron

Common questions

Answered only where our data holds the answer.

How big is the javan pond heron?

An adult javan pond heron weighs 253 g and has a wingspan of 81 cm, according to values recorded on Wikidata.

Is the javan pond heron endangered?

The javan pond 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 javan pond heron?

The javan pond heron (Ardeola speciosa) 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). Javan pond heron (Ardeola speciosa). Retrieved from https://creaturedata.com/animals/javan-pond-heron

MLA

“Javan pond heron (Ardeola speciosa).” CreatureData, 2026, https://creaturedata.com/animals/javan-pond-heron.

BibTeX
@misc{javan_pond_heron_2026,
  title = {Javan pond heron (Ardeola speciosa)},
  author = {{CreatureData}},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://creaturedata.com/animals/javan-pond-heron},
  note = {Data as of 2026-11-11}
}