White-faced Heron

About the White-faced Heron

The white-faced heron (Egretta novaehollandiae) also known as the white-fronted heron, and incorrectly as the grey heron, or blue crane, is a common bird throughout most of Australasia, including New Guinea, the islands of Torres Strait, Indonesia, New Zealand, and all but the driest areas of Australia.

It is a medium-sized heron, pale, slightly bluish-grey, with yellow legs and white facial markings. It can be found almost anywhere near shallow water, fresh or salt, and although it is prompt to depart the scene on long, slow-beating wings if disturbed, it will boldly raid suburban fish ponds.

The white-faced heron was formally described in 1790 by the English ornithologist John Latham. He placed it with the herons in the genus Ardea and coined the binomial name Ardea novaehollandiae. Latham based his account on the "white-fronted heron" that had been described and illustrated in 1789 by the first Governor of New South Wales Arthur Phillip in his book The Voyage of Governor Phillip to Botany Bay.

It was historically considered to be closely related to Ardea but for some time it was placed in its own genus—Notophoyx—because of the absence of the plumes typical in that... Wikipedia →