Black-headed Heron (Ardea melanocephala)
About the Black-headed Heron
The black-headed heron (Ardea melanocephala) is a wading bird of the heron family Ardeidae, common throughout much of sub-Saharan Africa and Madagascar. It is mainly resident, but some west African birds move further north in the rainy season. This species usually breeds in the wet season in colonies in trees, reedbeds or cliffs. It builds a bulky stick nest and lays 2–4 eggs. It often feeds in shallow water, spearing fish or frogs with its long, sharp bill. It also hunts well away from water, taking large insects, small mammals, and birds. It waits motionless for its prey, or slowly stalk its victim.
No audio on this page yet
We only publish recordings we may use commercially, because this site is supported by ads. xeno-canto lists 27 recordings for this species: 1 CC BY-NC-SA. None of them permits commercial use, so there is no player here — the page is kept as a profile so the bird is not missing from the guide.
As soon as someone uploads a freely licensed recording, we mirror it and the player appears here.
Listed as recorded in Cameroon, Ethiopia, Kenya, Senegal in the xeno-canto catalogue.
Related species you can hear
- Great Blue HeronArdea herodiasrecording
- Great EgretArdea albarecording
- Grey HeronArdea cinerearecording
- Intermediate EgretArdea intermediarecording
- Purple HeronArdea purpurearecording
This species has no recording here yet — these relatives do, so you can hear what the family sounds like.