mdahlem.net WWW

Birds of Oman home   Bird names   News    Family groups 1-26    Tips   Glossary   Plumage   Thumbnails    General information    Credits    PHOTOS FOR SALE
NON-PASSERINES     1    2    3    4    5    6    7    8    9    10     11     12     13     14	15     16     17     18     19     20     21     22     23     24    25    26    PASSERINES
Common names sorted alphabetically: B   C   D   E   F   G   H   I   J   K   L   M   N   O   P   R   S   T   V   W

5

Purple Heron (Ardea purpurea) Size: 78-90 cm; wing span 1.2-1.5 m Weight: 0.57-1.47 kg

Oman: Family Group 5 Family Group 5 Table Great White Egret Intermediate Egret Cattle Egret Little Egret Western Reef Heron Purple Heron Grey Heron Striated Heron Squacco Heron Indian Pond Heron Black-crowned Night Heron Little Bittern African Sacred Ibis Glossy Ibis Eurasian Spoonbill White Stork Greater Flamingo Lesser Flamingo Thumbnails page Classification table Index of bird names Oman 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.

Taxonomy, classification See Purple Heron at Wikipedia .

Range, habitat 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. Apart from a stronghold of Purple Herons, race "purpurea", in the border region of Iran and Iraq (the Eurphrates and Tigris river plains), they are found in scattered locations, often in coastal areas, of Turkey, the Middle East and Arabia. In Oman they have been found along the country's North coast. Purple Herons have a preference for dense reeds in wetlands, around both freshwater and salt water.

Sightings Click here for sighting information Race "purpurea" A Purple Heron, nominate race "purpurea", was first spotted sitting on the lawn of a roundabout at Qurm, near Muscat, Oman, in March 2010.

Photos

Race "purpurea"

ADULT

Sex unknown

Lateral view of an adult Purple Heron (photo courtesy of D. Wilczynska)

IMMATURE/JUVENILE

Near-lateral view of a juvenile Purple Heron (photo courtesy of M. Eaton)

Food, Diet

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

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.

Would you like to contribute photos or sound recordings to this site? If interested, please CLICK HERE. Credits to contributors are given HERE.

Disclaimer: Comments are always welcome. We give no guarantee that the information presented on these pages is always correct or up-to-date. External links are marked as such and we take no responsibility for the contents of external pages. All images on this site are protected by copyright & used by permission of the respective owners. If you wish to reproduce them or any of the material presented on this web site, please contact us: We hereby acknowledge the original custodians of the land which is described on these pages, including the Gomeroi/Gamilaraay people of the North-west Slopes and Plains of NSW, and the traditional owners of other lands and nations within this country. We acknowledge elders past, present and emerging. Sovereignty was never ceded.          Last updated: Fri, 22 March 2019, 6:22 +00:00