#goliath heron

[morrokei]

[sharp-teuth]

MY FAVORITE DINOSAUR GOT AN AWESOME TWIN so i had 2 draw him rlly quick (with goliath heron colors)

[puddleorganism]

Birds! Birds! Birds!

Update: added image IDs in the alt text!

[pixel655]

Bird of the Day 2/3/26: Goliath Heron

(Ardea goliath)

Fun Fact: Their prey sometimes gets stolen by other birds as they take quite a long time to prepare to swallow larger prey

[starryeyedstalker]

i’ve been kinda unmotivated lately guuulp tell me what to draw pls

[cattermater]

I still think of this little grey heron and her huge giant Goliath heron boyfriend.

[randomanimaloftheday]

Day 246#: Goliath Heron

Today's animal of the day is the Goliath Heron (Ardea goliath)!

Photo credit: Steve Garvie

This species of heron is found mostly in sub-Saharan Africa as well as in a few small pockets of southwestern Asia, and can grow between 3 ft and 5 ft tall with a wingspan of around 6 ft 1 in to 7 ft 7 in wide. They are the largest species of living heron in the world and the second largest known species of to ever have existed, with only the now extinct bennu heron being slightly larger. Both males and females have gray feathers on their bodies with chestnut-colored heads and necks, and white chins, throats, and breasts with streaks of black.

Photo credit: Marie Delport

These birds can be found near swamps, lakes, rivers, wetlands, and mangrove forests that have pristine water quality, and they prefer to avoid areas that are often visited by humans. They love to be around water, even compared to other herons, and are almost never seen straying too far away from the water. Even when flying from one water source to another, they prefer to fly over rivers or along the coast rather than fly over dry land. They are solitary and highly territorial birds, and outside of the mating season, will react aggressively if another member of their species enters their territory.

Photo credit: Codrin Bucur

Like other herons, the Goliath heron feeds mainly on fish, but due to its large size, it is able to hunt in deeper water and catch larger fish than other herons can. They hunt by standing in relatively shallow water and waiting for a fish to swim by before spearing it with their long, sharp beaks. Breams, carp, mullet, and tilapia are some of their favorite prey species, but they'll also eat whatever other small animals they're able to catch, like frogs, lizards, snakes, crustaceans, and even small mammals.

Photo credit: Jes Lefcourt

Goliath herons usually breed at the start of the rainy season, which takes place from November to March, but in some areas they've been known to breed year-round with no discernible breeding season. They prefer to nest on small islands created by the seasonal flooding or on small islands of floating vegetation. If the water level lowers and these islands become connected to the mainland, the parents may abandon their nests, but not always, since if they were to try again elsewhere, there's a lower chance that their replacement clutches will hatch. I mentioned before that the breeding season is the only time when these herons tolerate one another, but even during this time, they're really weird about it. Sometimes a mated pair will build their nest far away from other Goliath herons, and other times they'll join together to form giant nesting colonies. They've even been documented joining the nesting colonies of other species of herons or even those of cormorants, ibises, darts, and gulls!

Photo credit: Bernard Dupont

Their eggs are a pale bluish color and hatch after around 24 to 30 days after being laid. The parents will regurgitate food into their babies' mouths for the first few weeks until they are able to catch smaller fish on their own. By five weeks old, the juveniles will leave the nest, but their parents will still hang around to occasionally feed and protect their young from predators for a couple of months afterward. Juveniles tend to look similar to the adults, but are paler in color and look sort of scrungly (as you can see in the picture above). Young goliath herons are often preyed upon by white-tailed eagles; however, the large size and formidable bill of the adults can be used to help drive off would-be attackers. As such, fully grown Golaith herons have new natural predators, though African fish eagles and other large fish-eating birds, such as storks and pelicans, will sometimes bully them and steal their food.

[ferannarts]

Got a new pen at my local art supply shop and I've been playing around with it, it's so nice to sketch with!!