Some interesting scientific facts about Purple heron

in science •  7 years ago  (edited)

heron4.JPG

1. The Purple Heron is a large bird, 80-90 cm tall, with a 120-150 cm wingspan, but slender for its size, weighing only 0.5-1.3 kg. Scientific name of this bird: Ardea purpurea. It comes from the Latin: ardia means heron, and purpureus is purple.

2. It has a neck that looks very similar to a snake, and its plumage color is perfect for camouflage in the reeds. It feeds on fish, insects, amphibians, reptiles and even small birds, in wetlands or shallow waters.

heron2.JPG

3. It is a shy and solitary hunter, choosing time to hunt in the night until early morning. Hunting by using its sharp and long beak, and waiting for its prey with no motion or stalking them with slow motion.

heron1.JPG

4. The Spanish name for the purple heron is garza imperial, which translates as the ‘imperial heron’.

5. The Purple heron is a likely basis for the Egyptian Phoenix (mythology), phoenix or bennu, which means purple heron.


Purple heron

Distribution map


Source


All original photos were taken at a zoo in Aceh, Sumatra.


References:

  1. http://thewebsiteofeverything.com/animals/birds/Ciconiiformes/Ardeidae/Ardea-purpurea
  2. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Purple_heron
  3. http://www.planetofbirds.com/ciconiiformes-ardeidae-purple-heron-ardea-purpurea
  4. http://www.arkive.org/purple-heron/ardea-purpurea/
Authors get paid when people like you upvote their post.
If you enjoyed what you read here, create your account today and start earning FREE STEEM!
Sort Order:  

@keuudeip nice pictures well purple heron looks like duck.
where it is found mostly?

It breeds in Africa, central and southern Europe, and southern and eastern Asia. The Western Palearctic populations migrate between breeding and wintering habitats whereas the African and tropical-Asian populations are primarily sedentary, except for occasional dispersive movements.

It is similar in appearance to the more common grey heron but is slightly smaller, more slender and has darker plumage. It is also a more evasive bird, favouring densely vegetated habitats near water, particularly reed beds. It hunts for a range of prey including fish, rodents, frogs and insects, either stalking them or standing waiting in ambush.

Purple herons are colonial breeders and build a bulky nest out of dead reeds or sticks close to the water' edge among reeds or in dense vegetation. About five bluish-green eggs are laid and are incubated by both birds. The young hatch about four weeks later and fledge six weeks after that. The International Union for Conservation of Nature notes that the global population trend is downwards, largely because of the drainage of wetlands, but assesses the purple heron's conservation status as being of "least concern".

The purple heron (Ardea purpurea) is a wide ranging species of wading bird in the heron family, Ardeidae. The scientific name comes from Latin ardea "heron", and purpureus, "coloured purple

nice

Beautifull photo 💕

That beak is like a dagger. Beautiful bird.

😁

bek neu kheim, nyan hana meupat koh... L300 punya barang! 😆

Hahhaha Lon Khem karena han lon tujuet koment.... takot neu Flag... 😆

Excellent post @keuudeip. Bird photographs are beautiful and good information
about bird ( Purple-heron ).