← Back to Life List
Herons

Grey Heron

Graureiher

Ardea cinerea

Herons15 photosFirst seen: 30 August 2026
Grey Heron

The Grey Heron is a tall and widespread Eurasian heron that hunts by standing still or walking slowly in shallow water. It often nests communally in tall trees, sometimes far from its feeding sites.

ID tip: Adults are grey above and pale below with a white head, black crest and strong yellowish bill. In flight the neck is folded back and the broad rounded wings beat slowly.
First seen: 30 August 2026 · Nordende des Zürichsees · 15 photos in the collection.

Places in my records

Locations where this species is supported by a dated first record, an unambiguous single-place outing or a reviewed assignment.

Family
Herons (Ardeidae)
Length
84–102 cm
Wingspan
155–195 cm
Regional status
Year-round resident (Switzerland)
Conservation
Least Concern LCIUCN Red List · retrieved 30 August 2026
Habitat
Freshwater and coastal wetlands, rivers, lakes and nearby fields
Diet
Fish, amphibians, small mammals, birds and large invertebrates
Built from verified occurrence records, not drawn by hand. Core range = the countries holding 99% of all records; the rest are scattered or vagrant records. Record counts track where people watch birds as much as where the birds are, so the map shows presence, not abundance. Data: GBIF (CC BY 4.0). Basemap: Natural Earth.

Selected photographs

Grey HeronGrey HeronGrey HeronGrey HeronGrey HeronGrey HeronGrey HeronGrey Heron
Complete photo archiveAll 15 published photographs of this species, including the selected main gallery.Open all 15 photos in the archive →
‹ Green-winged TealGrey Wagtail ›