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Purple Heron (Ardea purpurea) German name(s): "Purpurreiher" Size: 78-90 cm; wing span 1.2-1.5 m Body mass: 0.57-1.47 kg Wing loading [g/cm2]: 0.40-0.50

Europe: Family Group 5 Family Group 5 Table Great Egret Little Egret Western Cattle Egret Grey Heron Purple Heron Striated Heron Black-crowned Night Heron Squacco Heron Green Heron Eurasian Bittern Little Bittern Eurasian Spoonbill Glossy Ibis White Stork Black Stork Greater Flamingo Thumbnails page Family group table Index of bird names German birds home page

Description     Classification     Distribution     Sightings     Photos     Breeding     Nest     Eggs     Behaviour     Food     Call/s

Physical description Click here for a physical description Purple Herons are relatively large, slender herons. They have a very slim head with a purple-grey cap, nuchal plumes and malar stripes and a long, slim neck with dark stripes down the sides. Otherwise, head and neck are light-brown, with heavy dark-grey streaking down the front (lower neck, chest, belly). The back and wing coverts are purplish grey, with light-brown shoulder patches. The irises are yellow. The long, straight bill is orange-brown. The legs and feet are also orange-brown. Compared to other herons, Purple Herons have relatively short legs, but long toes, in adaptation to life in dense reeds. Juveniles are mostly chestnut-coloured, with little grey other than a small dark cap. They do not have any plumes yet either.

Taxonomy, classification See Purple Heron at Wikipedia .

Range, habitat, finding this species Click here for information on habitat and range The overall distribution of this species can be assessed, and specific locations where birds have been spotted can be found, based on individual sighting reports submitted by birdwatchers to ebird.org . The global distribution of the Purple Heron is available HERE . There are three or four races of Purple Herons, which are a partly migratory species. The range of nominate race "purpurea" extends from Africa to parts of southern and central Europe and along the northern shore of the Black Sea into Kazakhstan. It also includes parts of Turkey, the Middle East and of the Arabian coastline. The northern hemisphere breeders of this race spend the winters in tropical Africa. The other races are sedentary or locally disperse, but do not migrate. Race "bournei" of the Cape Verde Islands, which is often included in race "purpurea", is considered by some to be a separate species, "Bourne's Heron". Races "madagacariensis" and "manilensis" are found on Madagascar and in southern Asia, respectively. In Europe Purple Herons, race "purpurea", are found as breeding migrants from the South. During migration they can be found basically anywhere around the Mediterranean Sea and en route to their breeding grounds, which are located in parts of Iberia, southern and central France, northern Italy (especially the Po river flatlands), parts of the Balkans, and along the major rivers. They are found along most of the Danube River, the upper Rhine in southern Germany and in the Netherlands. A large breeding population is also found in a wide area to the North of the Black Sea, the Caucasus mountain range and around the Caspian Sea. Purple Herons have a preference for dense reeds in wetlands, around both freshwater and salt water.

Sightings Click here for sighting information Race "purpurea" J. Pires reports spotting Purple Herons, nominate race "purpurea", occasionally during the breeding season in the area of Mora, Evora, Portugal, and the Tejo estuary, Portugal. Another was found at the Peso Dam, near Montemor o Novo, Evora, Portugal, in July 2019. More Purple Herons, race "purpurea", were found by J. Pires at Badajoz, Spain, in June 2019. M. Eaton reports finding a Purple Heron, race "purpurea", in Mequinenza, Zaragoza, Aragon, Spain, in September 2019. A. Sarok found Purple Herons, race "purpurea", in Vojvodina, Serbia, in the timeframe 2010-2024.

Photos

Race "purpurea"

ADULT

Sex unknown

Frontal view of an adult Purple Heron - note the plumes (photo courtesy of J. Pires)
[Vila Franca de Xira, Tejo estuary, Portugal, August 2022]

Near-frontal view of a Purple Heron looking sideways (photo courtesy of J. Pires)
[Tejo estuary, Portugal, July 2019]

Close-up lateral portrait of a Purple Heron (photo courtesy of J. Pires)
[Vila Franca de Xira, Tejo estuary, Portugal, June 2021]

Lateral view of a Purple Heron (photo courtesy of J. Pires)
[Tejo estuary, Portugal, June 2019]

Lateral view of a Purple Heron in reeds (photo courtesy of J. Pires)
[Badajoz, Badajoz province, Spain, June 2019]

Near-lateral/ventral view of a Purple Heron in flight (photo courtesy of A. Sarok)
[Vojvodina, Serbia, date unknown]

Lateral view of a Purple Heron in flight, neck folded (photo courtesy of A. Sarok)
[Vojvodina, Serbia, date unknown]

Lateral view of a Purple Heron in flight, neck folded (photo courtesy of J. Pires)
[Near Mora, Evora, Portugal, April 2015]

Lateral view of a Purple Heron in flight, banking to land with neck stretched out (photo courtesy of J. Pires)
[Near Mora, Evora, Portugal, April 2015]

Lateral view of a Purple Heron in flight, banking to land with neck stretched out (photo courtesy of J. Pires)
[Near Mora, Evora, Portugal, April 2015]

Lateral/ventral view of a Purple Heron in flight (photo courtesy of A. Sarok)
[Vojvodina, Serbia, date unknown]

Near-dorsal view of a Purple Heron in flight, wings up (photo courtesy of J. Pires)
[Vila Franca de Xira, Tejo estuary, Portugal, May 2020]

Near-dorsal view of a Purple Heron in flight, wings up (photo courtesy of J. Pires)
[Vila Franca de Xira, Tejo estuary, Portugal, June 2022]

Near-dorsal view of a Purple Heron in flight, wings down (photo courtesy of J. Pires)
[Vila Franca de Xira, Tejo estuary, Portugal, June 2022]

Near-dorsal view of a Purple Heron in flight (photo courtesy of J. Pires)
[Tejo estuary, Portugal, June 2019]

Near-dorsal view of a Purple Heron at take-off (photo courtesy of J. Pires)
[Tejo estuary, Portugal, August 2019]

Near-dorsal/ventral view of a Purple Heron in flight (photo courtesy of J. Pires)
[Tejo estuary, Portugal, August 2019]

Dorsal view of a Purple Heron at take-off (photo courtesy of J. Pires)
[Tejo estuary, Portugal, June 2019]

Dorsal view of a Purple Heron shortly after take-off (photo courtesy of J. Pires)
[Tejo estuary, Portugal, June 2019]

IMMATURE/JUVENILE

Close-up lateral view of a juvenile Purple Heron (photo courtesy of J. Pires)
[Tejo estuary, Portugal, January 2025]

Lateral view of a juvenile Purple Heron (photo courtesy of J. Pires)
[Estacao de Bombagem da Sopragol, Mora, Evora, Portugal, June 2024]

Lateral view of a juvenile Purple Heron (photo courtesy of J. Pires)
[Peso dam, near Montemor o Novo, Evora, Portugal, July 2019]

Near-lateral view of a juvenile Purple Heron in flight (photo courtesy of J. Pires)
[Tejo estuary, Portugal, August 2019]

Additional information

More photos of Purple Herons, nominate race "purpurea", are available on our page for Oman.

Behaviour

Social behaviour: Communal

Mobility: Migratory

Elementary unit: Solitary/flock

Purple Herons are summer breeding migrants to southern, south-eastern and parts of central Europe. They breed colonially.

Food, Diet

All egrets and herons prey on aquatic creatures in fresh water or estuaries (fish, frogs, snakes or crustaceans).

Lateral view of a Purple Heron with its catch, a substantial fish (photo courtesy of A. Sarok)
[Vojvodina, Serbia, date unknown]

Lateral view of a Purple Heron carrying away its prey (photo courtesy of A. Sarok)
[Vojvodina, Serbia, date unknown]

These pages are largely based on our own observations and those of our contributors. The structure of these bird pages is explained HERE. For more salient facts on any bird species please refer to a field guide.

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