Purple Heron

Ardea purpurea

Introduction

With its warm buff head and neck, black cap, grey back and deep chestnut shoulder patch, the adult Purple Heron is a smart bird, but one that favours the dense vegetation, such as reedbeds, of shallow waterbodies.

Purple Heron is considered an occasional breeder, and one for which proving breeding can be difficult. Its European breeding population has been expanding since at least the 1940s, with colonisation of France and the Netherlands signposting this species as a potential colonist to Britain & Ireland.

Key Stats

Rare

873.8g

3-5

<1%

BTO Records

4.8k records

Population and distribution stats for:

No data

No current data

0% no change

No data

No current data

No current data

Status and Trends

Population size, trends and patterns of distribution based on BTO and partnership surveys and atlasses with data collected by BTO volunteers.

Conservation Status

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This species can be found on the following statutory and conservation listings and schedules.

Species of European Conservation Concern

Least Concern

IUCN Red List of Threatened Species (global)

Least Concern

Schedule 1 Licence required (to disturb)*

Yes

Birds Directive Annex 1

Yes

Listed on the Annexes of*

WCA(I), WBD(I), Bern(III), Bonn(II), AEWA

* A guide only. Check details with the original legislation, especially those marked with an asterisk. See About Birdfacts for more information.

Population Size

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BOU Category

Source

First Record*

Middlesex, 1722

* First documented occurrence. Most species undoubtedly occurred before this. See About Birdfacts for more information.

Population Change

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Purple Heron is considered to be an occasional breeder in the UK, although there has only been one confirmed breeding attempt for this species, in Kent in 2010 [Eaton & the Rare Breeding Birds Panel 2024]. Around 25 migrant Purple Herons are seen annually during the summer and autumn months; the species is restricted to more southerly counties, with few recorded north of a line between the Mersey and the Humber [White & Kehoe 2024].

Distribution

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Purple Herons are regularly recorded in Britain in the spring, typically arriving during periods of warm southerly winds between April and May and occasionally staying into the summer. During 2008–11

Occupied 10-km squares in UK

These figures come from Bird Atlas 2007 and indicate how widespread a species is.

No. occupied in breeding season

% occupied in breeding season

0.03%

No. occupied in winter

% occupied in winter

0.07%

Bird Atlas distribution maps show where bird species breed or winter in Britain and Ireland. For breeding maps, larger dots indicate higher certainty the species bred in that area.

Click the map to enlarge,
or view it on Bird Atlas Mapstore.

Click the map to enlarge,
or view it on Bird Atlas Mapstore.

To view and download up-to-date distribution information aggregated from across BTO and partnership surveys and schemes, see our data holdings on the NBN Atlas.

European Distribution Map

European Breeding Bird Atlas 2

Distribution Change

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Bird Atlas distribution change maps show how bird distributions have changed through time. Coloured upward-pointing triangles show places apparently colonised over the period; grey downward-pointing triangles show places apparently vacated. Shading show places occupied.

Breeding Distribution change for Purple Heron

Click the map to enlarge,
or view it on Bird Atlas Mapstore.

Seasonality

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Purple Herons are very scarce and usually only encountered in spring and summer.

Weekly pattern of occurrence

The graph shows when the species is present in the UK, with taller bars indicating a higher likelihood of encountering the species in appropriate regions and habitats.

Phenology graph — Weekly occurrence patterns (shaded cells and reporting rates (vertical bars) based on BirdTrack data. Reporting rates give the likelihood of encountering the species each week.

Movement

Information about Purple Heron movements and migration based on online bird portals (e.g. BirdTrack), Ringing schemes and tracking studies.

Britain & Ireland movement

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View a summary of recoveries in the Online Ringing Report

Foreign locations of birds ringed or recovered in Britain & Ireland

Dots show the foreign destinations of birds ringed in Britain & Ireland, and the origins of birds ringed overseas that were subsequently recaptured, resighted or found dead in Britain & Ireland. Dot colours indicate the time of year that the species was present at the location.

Winter (Nov-Feb)
Spring (Mar-Apr)
Summer (May-Jul)
Autumn (Aug-Oct)

Foreign locations of birds ringed or recovered in Britain & Ireland

European movements

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EuroBirdPortal uses birdwatcher's records, such as those logged in BirdTrack to map the flows of birds as they arrive and depart Europe. See maps for this species here.

The Eurasian-African Migration Atlas shows movements of individual birds ringed or recovered in Europe. See maps for this species here.

Biology

Lifecycle and body size information for Purple Heron, including statistics on nesting, eggs and lifespan based on BTO ringing and nest recording data.

Productivity and Nesting

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Nesting timing

Typical (exceptional) number of broods

Source

Egg measurements

Typical length x width

56x41 mm

Mass (% shell)

51g (7%)

Source

Clutch Size

Typical number

5-3 eggs

Observed minimum and maximum

2-6 eggs

Source

Incubation

Incubation by

Male + Female

Typical duration

30-25 days

Source

Fledging

Type of chick

Altricial, downy

Typical duration

50-45 days

Source

Survival and Longevity

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Survival is shown as the proportion of birds surviving from one year to the next and is derived from bird ringing data. It can also be used to estimate how long birds typically live.

View number ringed each year in the Online Ringing Report.

lifespan

Typical life expectancy of bird reaching breeding age

4 years with breeding typically at 1 year

Survival of adults

All adults

0.74

Source

Survival of juveniles

All juveniles

0.41

Source

Classification, names and codes

Taxonomy, names and species codes for Purple Heron

Classification and Codes

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Order: Pelecaniformes
Family: Ardeidae
Scientific name: Ardea purpurea
Authority: Linnaeus, 1766

BTO 2-letter code: UR
BTO 5-letter code: PURHE
Euring code number: 1240

Alternate species names

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Catalan: agró roig
Czech: volavka cervená
Danish: Purpurhejre
Dutch: Purperreiger
Estonian: purpurhaigur
Finnish: ruskohaikara
French: Héron pourpré

German: Purpurreiher
Hungarian: vörös gém
Icelandic: Rauðhegri
Irish: Corr Chorcra
Italian: Airone rosso
Latvian: rudais garnis
Lithuanian: purpurinis garnys
Norwegian: Purpurhegre

Polish: czapla purpurowa
Portuguese: garça-roxa / garça-vermelha
Slovak: volavka purpurová
Slovenian: rjava caplja
Spanish: Garza imperial
Swedish: purpurhäger
Welsh: Crëyr Porffor

More Evidence

More evidence from Conservation Evidence.com

Partners

Birdfacts is based on data collected by volunteers participating in surveys that are organised and funded by BTO, RSPB, Esmée Fairbairn Foundation, JNCC and other partners.

BTO

Esmée Fairbairn Foundation

JNCC

RSPB

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