Purple Heron
Ardea purpurea
- KingdomAnimalia (Animals)
- PhylumChordata (Cordats)
- ClassAves (Aus)
- OrderPelecaniformes (Pelicaniformes)
- FamilyArdeidae (Herons, Egrets, and Bitterns)
- GenusArdea (Great Herons and Egrets)
- SpeciesArdea purpurea (Purple Heron)
Closest Relatives at Garden Route National Park
Grey Heron
Ardea cinerea
Black-headed Heron
Ardea melanocephala
Goliath Heron
Ardea goliath
Great Egret
Ardea alba
Little Egret
Egretta garzetta
Cattle Egret
Bubulcus ibis
Black-crowned Night Heron
Nycticorax nycticorax
intermediate egret
Egretta intermedia
Squacco Heron
Ardeola ralloides
Striated Heron
Butorides striata
Black Heron
Egretta ardesiaca
White-Backed Night-Heron
Gorsachius leuconotus
📅 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 Purple Heron in Garden Route National Park?
About 10% of visitor-days record a Purple Heron sighting in Garden Route National Park, based on 96 observer-days of citizen-science data from GBIF.
When is the best time to see Purple Heron in Garden Route National Park?
May has the highest sighting rate for Purple Heron in Garden Route National Park in our monthly data.