Great Blue Heron
Ardea herodias
- KingdomAnimalia (Animals)
- PhylumChordata (Cordats)
- ClassAves (Aus)
- OrderPelecaniformes (Pelicaniformes)
- FamilyArdeidae (Herons, Egrets, and Bitterns)
- GenusArdea (Great Herons and Egrets)
- SpeciesArdea herodias (Great Blue Heron)
The great blue heron (Ardea herodias) is a large wading bird in the heron family (Ardeidae), common near shores of open water and wetlands over most of North and Central America, as well as Northwestern South America, the Caribbean, and the Galápagos Islands. It is occasionally found in the Azores and is a rare vagrant to Europe. An all-white population found in South Florida, the Florida Keys, and the Caribbean islands, is known as the great white heron. Debate exists about whether these white birds are a color morph of the great blue heron, a subspecies of it, or an entirely separate species. Wikipedia →
<5% of wildlife watchers report a Great Blue Heron sighting in Cañón del Sumidero National Park, based on 53 days of visitor records from GBIF citizen-science data.
Closest Relatives at Cañón del Sumidero National Park
Great Egret
Ardea alba
Snowy Egret
Egretta thula
Green Heron
Butorides virescens
Black-crowned Night Heron
Nycticorax nycticorax
Little Blue Heron
Egretta caerulea
Tricolored Heron
Egretta tricolor
Cattle Egret
Bubulcus ibis
Yellow-crowned Night-Heron
Nyctanassa violacea
Boat-billed Heron
Cochlearius cochlearius
Brown Pelican
Pelecanus occidentalis
American White Pelican
Pelecanus erythrorhynchos
Roseate Spoonbill
Platalea ajaja
📅 Monthly Probability
☀️ When They're Spotted
Most active during daytime hours (6am–6pm) · across all parks (global)
Global Distribution
Where this species is recorded worldwide. Restricted to human observations from 2019 onwards — the same kind of record and the same period the probabilities on this page are built from, so collar-tracking studies, camera-trap arrays and museum specimens are excluded. Around Santa Rosa that removes 5,924 GPS fixes from a handful of tagged jaguars.
where this species is recorded (GBIF density — it tracks where observers go, not how likely a sighting is) · parks where it occurs — tap a pin for the sighting probability there
Parks Where Found
Quick answers
What are the chances of seeing a Great Blue Heron in Cañón del Sumidero National Park?
About 4% of wildlife watchers report a Great Blue Heron sighting in Cañón del Sumidero National Park, based on 53 days of visitor records from GBIF citizen-science data.
When is the best time to see Great Blue Heron in Cañón del Sumidero National Park?
December has the highest sighting rate for Great Blue Heron in Cañón del Sumidero National Park in our monthly data.