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Australian Wildlife

  Pied Heron (Ardea picata)





Pied Heron | Ardea picata photo
Pied Heron, Yellow Waters, Kakadu National Park

Image by Stephen Barnett - Some rights reserved.    (view image details)

Pied Heron | Ardea picata photo
Pied Heron

Image by Stephen Barnett - Some rights reserved.    (view image details)







PIED HERON FACTS

Description
The Pied Heron is grey with a yellow bill and legs. The top of the head and crest is black and face and neck are white. Immature are brown or grey above with no crest and have white head, neck and underside.

Other Names
Pied Egret, White-headed Egret

Size
43cm - 48cm

Habitat
edges of swamps, lakes, lagoons, mangroves, mudflats

Food
fish, frogs, crustaceans, insects

Breeding
The Pied Heron builds a platform of sticks in a tree. They nest in colonies - often with other species of heron. Three to six blue-white eggs are laid.

Range
coastal northern Australia from Kimberleys in Western Australia round to Townsville in Queensland

distribution map showing range of Ardea picata in Australia

Credits:
Map is from Atlas of Living Australia website at https://biocache.ala.org.au licensed under Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 License.



Classification
Class:Aves
Order:Ciconiiformes
Family:Ardeidae
Genus:Ardea
Species:picata
Common Name:Pied Heron

Relatives in same Genus
  Great Egret (A. alba)
  Cattle Egret (A. ibis)
  Intermediate Egret (A. intermedia)
  Pacific Heron (A. pacifica)
  Great-billed Heron (A. sumatrana)