Great-billed Heron (Ardea sumatrana)
About the Great-billed Heron
The great-billed heron (Ardea sumatrana) is a wading bird of the heron family, resident from southeast Asia to Papua New Guinea and Australia. The great-billed heron is a large bird, typically standing 115 cm (45 in) tall and weighing up to 2.6 kg (5.7 lb). It resembles the purple heron in appearance, although it is larger and darker. The plumage is largely dark grey above. In flight, it has a uniform dark grey upperwing. The flight is slow, with its neck retracted. This is characteristic of herons and bitterns, and distinguishes them from storks, cranes and spoonbills, which extend their necks. The species feeds in shallow water, spearing fish with its long, sharp bill. It will wait motionless for 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 22 recordings for this species: 3 CC BY-NC-SA · 2 CC BY-NC-ND. 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 Australia, Papua New Guinea, Singapore 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.