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Pond Herons
Ardeola
Pond herons (Ardeola) are herons, typically 40–50 cm (16–20 in) long with an 80–100 cm (31–39 in) wingspan. Most breed in the tropical Old World, but the migratory squacco heron occurs in southern Europe and the Middle East and winters in Africa. The scientific name comes from Latin ardeola, a small heron (ardea).
8 branches of this genus, most-observed first · about 6 known species

Indian Pond-Heron
speciesArdeola grayii

Squacco Heron
speciesArdeola ralloides

Chinese Pond-Heron
speciesArdeola bacchus

Javan Pond-Heron
speciesArdeola speciosa

Rufous-bellied Heron
speciesArdeola rufiventris

Madagascar Pond-Heron
speciesArdeola idae
Ardeola bacchus × grayii
hybridArdeola bacchus × grayii
Ardeola bacchus × speciosa
hybridArdeola bacchus × speciosa
Where it lives
Recorded sightings
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geo-referenced records in GBIF, from museums, herbaria and field observers.
Drag the globe to turn it. Dots are where records exist, not a range map; darker means more records.
In the stacks
Searching the stacks…
Every page naming Ardeola in the Biodiversity Heritage Library →
This page is assembled live from iNaturalist, GBIF, Wikipedia, the Source Library and the Internet Archive. It is not yet part of the hand-edited codex. iNaturalist taxon 4989.