Indian Pond Heron

Ardeola grayii (Sykes, 1832)

		adult, breeding non breeding
2025-06-27 Sorbulak 2015-01-11 Almatinskaja obl. okrest. g. Taldykorgana	© Akmaral Davletova © Alexandr Belyaev

Description

The Indian Pond Heron is a small heron about 50 cm in length. It appears stocky with a short neck, short thick bill and buff-brown back. In summer, adults have long neck feathers. Its appearance is transformed from their dull colours when they take to flight, when the white of the wings makes them very prominent. It is very similar to the Squacco Heron, Ardeola ralloides, but has darker back contrasted by the paler head. Also Indian Pond Heron in summer plumage has white plumes down the back from the neck showing as the short white central line (the Squacco Heron does not have these their plumes are coloured much like the rest of the head); and yellowish bill (the Squacco Heron in summer has greyish-blue bill). They are very silent but may give a harsh croak when flushed or near their nests.

Distribution

It was first recorded at Sorbulak on July 16, 2009 (Kovalenko, Dyakin 2009). It was also found there on December 7, 2013 (Belyalov, Fedorenko 2014) and by a group of observers on June 27, 2025. Another heron was observed in December 2014 – January 2015 in the vicinity of Taldykorgan (Belyaev, Berezovikov 2015); on July 10, 2019, one individual was encountered by A. Putilin in the Kostanay region on the territory of the Alty Say Eco Park; one bird was recorded on May 5, 2020 by S. Shmygalev in the Zhambyl region on the Chu River in the village of Ulanbel.

Biology

The Indian Pond Herons are usually solitary foragers but numbers of them may sometimes feed in close proximity during the dry seasons when small wetlands have a high concentration of prey. They are semi-colonial breeders. They may also forage at garbage heaps. During dry seasons, they sometimes take to foraging on well watered lawns or even dry grassland. When foraging, they allow close approach and flush only at close range. They sometimes form communal roosts. Status and biology in Kazakhstan are unknown.

References

Wikipedia