The International Ornithological Committee (IOC) recognizes these 74 species of herons, egrets, and bitterns in the family Ardeidae. They are distributed among 18 genera, some of which have only one species. Six extinct species are included; they are marked (X).
List
This list is presented according to the IOC taxonomic sequence and can also be sorted alphabetically by common name and binomial.
| Common name | Binomial name + authority | IOC sequence |
|---|---|---|
| White-crested tiger heron | Tigriornis leucolopha (Jardine, 1846) | 1 |
| Rufescent tiger heron | Tigrisoma lineatum (Boddaert, 1783) | 2 |
| Bare-throated tiger heron | Tigrisoma mexicanum Swainson, 1834 | 3 |
| Fasciated tiger heron | Tigrisoma fasciatum (Such, 1825) | 4 |
| Boat-billed heron | Cochlearius cochlearius (Linnaeus, 1766) | 5 |
| Agami heron | Agamia agami (Gmelin, JF, 1789) | 6 |
| Zigzag heron | Zebrilus undulatus (Gmelin, JF, 1789) | 7 |
| Eurasian bittern | Botaurus stellaris (Linnaeus, 1758) | 8 |
| Australasian bittern | Botaurus poiciloptilus (Wagler, 1827) | 9 |
| American bittern | Botaurus lentiginosus (Rackett, 1813) | 10 |
| Pinnated bittern | Botaurus pinnatus (Wagler, 1829) | 11 |
| Stripe-backed bittern | Botaurus involucris (Vieillot, 1823) | 12 |
| Least bittern | Botaurus exilis (Gmelin, JF, 1789) | 13 |
| Black bittern | Botaurus flavicollis (Latham, 1790) | 14 |
| Cinnamon bittern | Botaurus cinnamomeus (Gmelin, JF, 1789) | 15 |
| Von Schrenck's bittern | Botaurus eurhythmus (Swinhoe, 1873) | 16 |
| Dwarf bittern | Botaurus sturmii (Wagler, 1827) | 17 |
| Little bittern | Botaurus minutus (Linnaeus, 1766) | 18 |
| Yellow bittern | Botaurus sinensis (Gmelin, JF, 1789) | 19 |
| Black-backed bittern | Botaurus dubius Mathews, 1912 | 20 |
| New Zealand bittern (X) | Botaurus novaezelandiae (Purdie, 1871) | 21 |
| Yellow-crowned night heron | Nyctanassa violacea (Linnaeus, 1758) | 22 |
| Bermuda night heron (X) | Nyctanassa carcinocatactes Olson & Wingate, 2006 | 23 |
| Black-crowned night heron | Nycticorax nycticorax (Linnaeus, 1758) | 24 |
| Ascension night heron (X) | Nycticorax olsoni Bourne, Ashmole & Simmons, 2003 | 25 |
| Reunion night heron (X) | Nycticorax duboisi (Rothschild, 1907) | 26 |
| Mauritius night heron (X) | Nycticorax mauritianus (Newton, E & Gadow, 1893) | 27 |
| Rodrigues night heron (X) | Nycticorax megacephalus (Milne-Edwards, 1873) | 28 |
| Nankeen night heron | Nycticorax caledonicus (Gmelin, JF, 1789) | 29 |
| Malayan night heron | Gorsachius melanolophus (Raffles, 1822) | 30 |
| Japanese night heron | Gorsachius goisagi (Temminck, 1836) | 31 |
| Capped heron | Pilherodius pileatus (Boddaert, 1783) | 32 |
| Whistling heron | Syrigma sibilatrix (Temminck, 1824) | 33 |
| Little blue heron | Egretta caerulea (Linnaeus, 1758) | 34 |
| Tricolored heron | Egretta tricolor (Müller, PLS, 1776) | 35 |
| Reddish egret | Egretta rufescens (Gmelin, JF, 1789) | 36 |
| Slaty egret | Egretta vinaceigula (Sharpe, 1895) | 37 |
| Black heron | Egretta ardesiaca (Wagler, 1827) | 38 |
| Pacific reef heron | Egretta sacra (Gmelin, JF, 1789) | 39 |
| Chinese egret | Egretta eulophotes (Swinhoe, 1860) | 40 |
| Snowy egret | Egretta thula (Molina, 1782) | 41 |
| Little egret | Egretta garzetta (Linnaeus, 1766) | 42 |
| Dimorphic egret | Egretta dimorpha Hartert, EJO, 1914 | 43 |
| Western reef heron | Egretta gularis (Bosc, 1792) | 44 |
| Pied heron | Egretta picata (Gould, 1845) | 45 |
| White-faced heron | Egretta novaehollandiae (Latham, 1790) | 46 |
| White-backed night heron | Calherodius leuconotus (Wagler, 1827) | 47 |
| White-eared night heron | Oroanassa magnifica (Ogilvie-Grant, 1899) | 48 |
| Striated heron | Butorides striata (Linnaeus, 1758) | 49 |
| Lava heron | Butorides sundevalli (Reichenow, 1877) | 50 |
| Green heron | Butorides virescens (Linnaeus, 1758) | 51 |
| Forest bittern | Zonerodius heliosylus (Lesson, RP & Garnot, 1828) | 52 |
| Rufous-bellied heron | Ardeola rufiventris (Sundevall, 1850) | 53 |
| Squacco heron | Ardeola ralloides (Scopoli, 1769) | 54 |
| Malagasy pond heron | Ardeola idae (Hartlaub, 1860) | 55 |
| Indian pond heron | Ardeola grayii (Sykes, 1832) | 56 |
| Chinese pond heron | Ardeola bacchus (Bonaparte, 1855) | 57 |
| Javan pond heron | Ardeola speciosa (Horsfield, 1821) | 58 |
| White-necked heron | Ardea pacifica Latham, 1801 | 59 |
| Great egret | Ardea alba Linnaeus, 1758 | 60 |
| Yellow-billed egret | Ardea brachyrhyncha Brehm, AE, 1854 | 61 |
| Medium egret | Ardea intermedia Wagler, 1829 | 62 |
| Plumed egret | Ardea plumifera Gould, 1848 | 63 |
| Western cattle egret | Ardea ibis (Linnaeus, 1758) | 64 |
| Eastern cattle egret | Ardea coromanda (Boddaert, 1783) | 65 |
| Grey heron | Ardea cinerea Linnaeus, 1758 | 66 |
| Great blue heron | Ardea herodias Linnaeus, 1758 | 67 |
| Cocoi heron | Ardea cocoi Linnaeus, 1766 | 68 |
| Purple heron | Ardea purpurea Linnaeus, 1766 | 69 |
| Humblot's heron | Ardea humbloti Milne-Edwards & Grandidier, A, 1885 | 70 |
| White-bellied heron | Ardea insignis Hume, 1878 | 71 |
| Great-billed heron | Ardea sumatrana Raffles, 1822 | 72 |
| Black-headed heron | Ardea melanocephala Children & Vigors, 1826 | 73 |
| Goliath heron | Ardea goliath Cretzschmar, 1829 | 74 |
References
- Gill, F.; Donsker, D.; Rasmussen, P. (August 2024). "Ibis, spoonbills, herons, Hamerkop, Shoebill, pelicans". IOC World Bird List. v 14.2). Retrieved August 20, 2024.