DISSEMINATION
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| Kingdom | Animalia | 
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| Phylum | Chordata | |
| Class | Aves | |
| Order | Ciconiiformes | |
| Family | Ardeidae | |
| Genus | Ardea | |
| Species | purpurea | |
| Classification | Linnaeus, 1766 | |
| Common name | purple heron | |
| Size | 78 - 90 centimeters | |
| Wing Span | 120 - 150 centimeters | |
| Male weight | 600 - 1400 grams | |
| Female weight | 600 - 1400 grams |
| Geographic Range | it is found in the Palearctic Southern region, the Afrotropical region, (Africa South of the Sahara), the Oriental region (Asia South of the Himalayas). |
| Physical Characteristics | its body is dark and elongated. Its head and neck are narrow and elongated. Its beak can be used as a harpoon to catch prey. The long paws allow the purple heron to reach the deepest water. The long and well-spaced fingers allow the purple heron to walk easily on marshy grounds and on water vegetation. Its typical stretching neck completes its beak, increasing the efficiency and the speed of the attack to prey. It can live up to 23 years. |
| Behaviour | it is bred in small colonies. It catches prey in shallow water stretching its neck forward and hitting it. |
| Habitat | in Europe it prefers mild areas and it can be found in soft water marshes with thick vegetation, along canals and beds of reeds. |
| Flight | it flaps its wings slowly, keeping its head folded back and stretching its paws. It has a regular and powerful flight. |
| Food habits | it feeds on fish, amphibians, insects (both grubs and adults), especially from sunset to sunrise. It walks keeping its beak very near the water and swallow with a rapid neck and head movement the fishes from the head, in order to make them easily pass through the oesophagus. It can feed on amphibians, beetles, and molluscs; occasionally it eats small mammals, snakes and lizards. |
| Migration | it winters in southern Europe, Africa, in the South of the Sahara, even if some of them can stay in the Nile Valley and Delta from the beginning of September until the end of April. |
| Nidification | the nests are usually built in the beds of hurdles or among some plants typical of wet areas, generally at 0.5 -1 meter from the water; they can be built on trees too, at 25 meters from the ground. They are made of ditch reeds or of little branches. The eggs are light blue-green and white spotted. The purple herons usually lay 4-5 eggs that need from 25 to 30 days to open. Then, it takes the chicks from 45 to 50 days before they begin to fly. During the courtship they have more attractive feathers, especially on the neck. The pairs last at least for one season. Both parents take care of the chicks until they learn to fly. They build their nests in small colonies, generally made up of two or three pairs, or alone. In central Europe eggs are laid at the end of April, or at the beginning of May, while, in the South of Europe the laying of the eggs can have a delay of three weeks. |
| Status in the lagoon | in Venice Lagoon they build their nests in soft water marshes, in fish farms (Dogà, Dragojesolo, Cornio Alto, Figheri), and in "B" reclaimed area. |
| Sources | |
| References | Unione Europea - Direttiva Uccelli Dizionario Virtuale di Ornitologia del Dipartimento di Zoologia dell'Università di Coimbra Riserva marina di Miramare - Trieste Atlante degli Uccelli Nidificanti in Provincia di Venezia - a cura di M. Bon, G. Cherubini, M. Semenzato, E. Stival - Provincia di Venezia, Assessorato Caccia e Pesca. |
| Web References | http://aves.ccg.pt/ |
| Source of the photo | http://perso.club-internet.fr/fdesjard/especes/gd_lacs/heron_pourpre.htm |
| Source of the call | http://ledid.net/oiseaux/ |
| Source of the video | http://www.hbw.com/ibc/ |
Ardea
purpurea
