📸 PhotoPhoto: Bengt Nyman from Vaxholm, Sweden · CC BY 2.0 · Wikimedia Commons Source
Grey Heron
Ardea cinerea (Grey Heron · アオサギ)
💡 Everyday Comparisons for Size, Mass & Speed
- 💡 Its wingspan of about 1.75 m is comparable to the height of an adult human (about 1.7 m).
- 💡 Rice paddies and fish farms serve as important foraging grounds for this species.
- 💡 Its weight of around 2 kg is about 1/5 of a 10 kg bag of rice.
Reference standards: coach bus ~12 m, mid-size car ~4.9 m, compact car ~1 t, basketball hoop 3.05 m, credit card 8.56 cm.
Site-computed relative index from recorded values; not a formal scientific metric.
📖 1. Overview
The Grey Heron is a large heron widespread across Eurasia and Africa, inhabiting shallow waters including human-made wetlands. It is listed as Least Concern (LC) by the IUCN.
🦴 2. Anatomy & Morphology
It is a large bird measuring 90–98 cm in body length, weighing 1–2 kg, and spanning 155–175 cm across the wings.
🔍 3. Ecology & Behavior
It feeds mainly on fish, as well as crustaceans, frogs, small mammals, and insects, hunting by standing motionless in shallow water until prey comes within strike range.
🇰🇷 4. Connection to Korea
No direct record connecting this species to Korea has been found.
📚 Sources & References
- • IUCN Red List LC (2019) — https://www.iucnredlist.org/species/22696993/154525233
- • IUCN Red List category LC — latest assessment at iucnredlist.org
- • doi.org — avilist.v2026
- • iucnredlist.org — 154525233
- • 국가생물종목록(국립생물자원관) ktsn 120000001541 — https://species.nibr.go.kr/home/mainHome.do?cont_link=009&subMenu=009002&contCd=009002&ktsn=120000001541
- • wikidata.org — Q25273
- • commons.wikimedia.org — File:Ardea cinerea EM1A2714 (27349354381).jpg
- • heronconservation.org — grey-heron
- • animaldiversity.org — Ardea cinerea
- • Silhouette: PhyloPic — author not recorded · CC0 1.0
Recorded dimensions are widely cited representative estimates from public literature and may vary by study or specimen.