Zigzag heron
Zebrilus undulatus (J. F. Gmelin, 1789)
The zigzag heron (Zebrilus undulatus) is a species in the family Ardeidae, order Pelecaniformes. Recorded adults weigh about 123 g. Its IUCN Red List status is Least Concern.
Quick facts about the zigzag heron
- Weight
- 123 gsrc for Weight
- Length
- Not recorded
- Lifespan
- Not recorded
- Diet
- Aquatic predatorsrc for Diet
- Main food
- Not recorded
- Habitat
- forestsrc for Habitat
- Young per litter or clutch
- Not recorded
- 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 zigzag heron live?
Not recorded
What is the zigzag heron?
The zigzag heron (Zebrilus undulatus) is a species of heron in the family Ardeidae, also including egrets and bitterns. It is in the monotypic genus Zebrilus. It is found in Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, French Guiana, Guyana, Peru, Suriname, and Venezuela. Its natural habitat is subtropical or tropical swamps.
From the Wikipedia article “Zigzag heron” (en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Zigzag_heron&oldid=1377875744), 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 zigzag heron endangered?
The zigzag 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 zigzag heron classified?
- kingdomAnimalia
- phylumChordata
- classAves
- orderPelecaniformes
- familyArdeidae
- genusZebrilus
- SpeciesZebrilus undulatus (J. F. Gmelin, 1789)
Synonyms Ardea undulata
Other names and names in other languages (41)
- بلشون متعرجArabic
- ZenkiKotava
- Зиг-заг чаплаBulgarian
- Martinet tigrat nanCatalan
- martinet tigrat pigmeuCatalan
- bukáček vlnkovanýCzech
- crëyr amryliwWelsh
- ZigzaghejreDanish
- ZickzackreiherGerman
- ZebrareiherGerman
- zigzaga ardeoEsperanto
- Zigzaga tigrardeoEsperanto
- HococitoSpanish
- Avetigre enanaSpanish
- viirhüüpEstonian
- حواصیل زیگزاگیPersian
- nokihaikaraFinnish
- Butor zigzagFrench
- prugasta čapljicaCroatian
- zebracsíkos gémHungarian
- Airone zigzagItalian
- コビトサギJapanese
- コビトトラフサギJapanese
- zebrinis baublysLithuanian
- ZigzagreigerDutch
- sikksakkhegreNorwegian
- bącznikPolish
- زگ زیگ بگلاWestern Panjabi
- SocoíPortuguese
- garça-zebraPortuguese
- Socoí-zigue-zaguePortuguese
- socoí-ziguezaguePortuguese
- Зебровая выпьRussian
- Зебровая цапляRussian
- vrčiak vlnkovanýSlovak
- Zebrasta čapljaSerbian
- zebrahägerSwedish
- Yazılı BalıkçılTurkish
- говаUkrainian
- 波斑鷺Chinese
- 波斑鹭Chinese
Catalogue of LifeWikipediaiNaturalistTAXREFWikidataIUCN Red List
Relatives of the zigzag heron
Other species in the same family Ardeidae.
Grey heron
Ardea cinerea
Great egret
Ardea alba
Black-crowned night heron
Nycticorax nycticorax
Western cattle egret
Ardea ibis
Eurasian bittern
Botaurus stellaris
Little egret
Egretta garzetta
CompareZigzag heron vs Grey heronZigzag heron vs Great egretZigzag heron vs Black-crowned night heronZigzag heron vs Western cattle egret
Common questions
Answered only where our data holds the answer.
How big is the zigzag heron?
An adult zigzag heron weighs 123 g, according to values recorded on Wikidata.
Is the zigzag heron endangered?
The zigzag 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 zigzag heron?
The zigzag heron (Zebrilus undulatus) 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). Zigzag heron (Zebrilus undulatus). Retrieved from https://creaturedata.com/animals/zigzag-heron
“Zigzag heron (Zebrilus undulatus).” CreatureData, 2026, https://creaturedata.com/animals/zigzag-heron.
@misc{zigzag_heron_2026,
title = {Zigzag heron (Zebrilus undulatus)},
author = {{CreatureData}},
year = {2026},
url = {https://creaturedata.com/animals/zigzag-heron},
note = {Data as of 2026-11-11}
}