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 Niokolo-Koba National Park
Grey Heron
Ardea cinerea
Black-headed Heron
Ardea melanocephala
Great Egret
Ardea alba
Striated Heron
Butorides striata
Black-crowned Night Heron
Nycticorax nycticorax
Cattle Egret
Bubulcus ibis
Squacco Heron
Ardeola ralloides
Little Egret
Egretta garzetta
White-Backed Night-Heron
Gorsachius leuconotus
intermediate egret
Egretta intermedia
Western Reef Egret
Egretta gularis
Black Heron
Egretta ardesiaca
📅 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 Niokolo-Koba National Park?
About 4% of visitor-days record a Purple Heron sighting in Niokolo-Koba National Park, based on 12 observer-days of citizen-science data from GBIF.
When is the best time to see Purple Heron in Niokolo-Koba National Park?
January has the highest sighting rate for Purple Heron in Niokolo-Koba National Park in our monthly data.