Javan Pond Heron

Fascinating facts about the Javan Pond Heron

• At 45 cm long, this wading bird's diet includes insects, fish and crabs.
• When the calendar flips to June, its plumage swaps from muted brown to a flash of orange, slate and white, like a summer costume change that signals breeding time. The bright display coordinates mates across crowded marshes.
• From June through September, it gathers in colonies to raise chicks, then lifts off and joins seasonal migrations across Southeast Asia. The yearly trek links distant wetlands, showing how flexible its life cycle is.
• Despite being spread across a huge range of fresh and salt-water habitats, the species holds a Least Concern status on the IUCN Red List, reminding us that even common birds need the wetlands they call home.

At a glance

About the Javan Pond Heron

The Javan pond heron (Ardeola speciosa) is a wading bird about 45 cm long that lives in shallow fresh and salt-water wetlands of Southeast Asia. Its plumage is orange, slate and white during the breeding season (June to September) and brown flecked with white outside the breeding season, making it virtually indistinguishable in the field from the Chinese and Indian pond herons. It has a yellow bill with a black tip, yellow eyes and legs, and white wing patches. Its diet includes insects, fish and crabs. The species is migratory and breeds from June to September. It is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List.

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