BC Conservation Data Centre: Species Summary
Ardea herodias herodias
Great Blue Heron, herodias subspecies
| Scientific Name: | Ardea herodias herodias Linnaeus, 1758 | ||||||||||
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| English Name: | Great Blue Heron, herodias subspecies | ||||||||||
| Classification / Taxonomy | |||||||||||
| Scientific Name - Concept Reference: | American Ornithologists' Union (AOU). 1957. The AOU check-list of North American birds, 5th ed. Port City Press, Inc., Baltimore, MD. 691 pp. | ||||||||||
| Classification Level: | Subspecies | ||||||||||
| Species Group: | Vertebrate Animal | ||||||||||
| Species Code: | B-GBHE-HE | ||||||||||
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| Conservation Status / Legal Designation | |||||||||||
| Global Status: | G5T5 (Apr 2016) | ||||||||||
| Provincial Status: | S3? (Mar 2017) | ||||||||||
| BC List: | Blue | ||||||||||
| Provincial FRPA list: | Y (Jun 2006) | ||||||||||
| Provincial Wildlife Act: | |||||||||||
| COSEWIC Status: | |||||||||||
| SARA Schedule: | |||||||||||
| General Status Canada: | |||||||||||
| Migratory Bird Convention Act: | |||||||||||
| Ecology & Life History | |||||||||||
| General Description: | |||||||||||
| Migration Characteristics: (Global / Provincial) | |||||||||||
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Nonmigrant: Local Migrant: Distant Migrant: Within Borders Migrant: |
/ / / na / |
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| Habitats: (Type / Subtype / Dependence) |
Agriculture / Cultivated Field / Facultative - frequent use
Agriculture / Hedgerow / Facultative - frequent use Agriculture / Pasture/Old Field / Facultative - frequent use Anthropogenic / Urban/Suburban / Facultative - occasional use Forest / Conifer Forest - Dry / Facultative - occasional use Forest / Conifer Forest - Mesic (average) / Facultative - occasional use Forest / Conifer Forest - Moist/wet / Facultative - frequent use Forest / Deciduous/Broadleaf Forest / Facultative - frequent use Forest / Mixed Forest (deciduous/coniferous mix) / Facultative - frequent use Grassland/Shrub / Meadow / Facultative - frequent use Lakes / Lake / Facultative - frequent use Lakes / Pond/Open Water / Facultative - frequent use Other Unique Habitats / Vernal Pools/Seasonal Seeps / Facultative - occasional use Riparian / Riparian Forest / Facultative - frequent use Riparian / Riparian Herbaceous / Facultative - occasional use Stream/River / Stream/River / Facultative - frequent use Wetland / Marsh / Facultative - occasional use Wetland / Swamp / Facultative - occasional use |
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| Provincial Habitat Comments: | Habitat keywords copied from species record. | ||||||||||
| Food Habits: | |||||||||||
| Global Food Habits Comments: | |||||||||||
| Global Phenology: | |||||||||||
| Provincial Phenology: (1st half of month/ 2nd half of month) |
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| Colonial Breeder: | |||||||||||
| Length(cm)/width(cm)/Weight(g): | / / | ||||||||||
| Elevation (m) (min / max): |
Global:
Provincial: |
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| Distribution | |||||||||||
| Endemic: | N | ||||||||||
| Global Range Comment: | BREEDING: central Canadian prairies, Ontario, Quebec, and Nova Scotia south to Florida, Texas, Belize, Guatemala, and Baja California (Butler 1992). | ||||||||||
| Authors / Contributors | |||||||||||
| Global Information Author: | |||||||||||
| Last Updated: | |||||||||||
| Provincial Information Author: | |||||||||||
| Last Updated: | |||||||||||
| References and Related Literature | |||||||||||
1998. The Great Blue Heron. B.C. Minist. Environ., Lands and Parks, Wildl. Branch. 2pp. |
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British Columbia Ministry of Water, Land and Air Protection. 2004. Great Blue Heron in Accounts and measures for managing identified wildlife. British Columbia Ministry of Water, Land and Air Protection, Victoria, BC. 52pp. |
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Campbell, R.W., N.K. Dawe, I.McT. Cowan, J.M. Cooper, G. Kaiser, and M.C.E. McNall. 1990. The Birds of British Columbia, Vol. 1. Nonpasserines: Introduction, Loons through Waterfowl. Royal B.C. Mus. in association with Environ. Can., Can. Wildl. Serv. 514pp. |
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Gebauer, M.B., and I.E. Moul. 2001. Status of the Great Blue Heron in British Columbia. B.C. Minist. Environ., Lands and Parks, Wildl. Branch. Working rep. WR-102. 66pp. |
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Ministry of Environment. 2008. Develop with Care, Great Blue Herons Fact Sheet #11. Environmental Guidelines for Urban and Rural Land Development in British Columbia. 2 pp. |
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Please visit the website Conservation Status Ranks for definitions of the data fields used in this summary report.
Suggested Citation:
B.C. Conservation Data Centre. Species Summary: Ardea herodias herodias. B.C. Minist. of Environment. Available: https://a100.gov.bc.ca/pub/eswp/ (accessed Sep 24, 2026).