Squacco Heron ( Ardeola ralloides, family: Ardeidae)

squacco heron Kruger National Park birds The Squacco Heron (Latin name Ardeola ralloides) is described in Roberts Birds of Southern Africa, 7th Edition. This bird has a unique Roberts number of 72 and you will find a full description of this bird on page 594 also a picture of the Squacco Heron on page 577. The Squacco Heron belongs to the family of birds classified as Ardeidae. According to the Percy FitzPatrick Institute of African Ornithology the Squacco Heron is also known by these other names: Common Squacco Heron.

The map of the Kruger you see on this page shows the areas (coloured orange) where this bird has been identified. The basic information was provided by the Avian Demographic Unit based at UCT and I created the maps from that information ... the green dots show the locations of the various Kruger National Park Rest Camps

The Squacco Heron is neither Endemic or near Endemic to the Kruger National Park. It is however a common resident

In terms of distribution of the Squacco Heron in the Kruger National Park you may not see it in all areas. Squacco Heron : see above distribution map.

The Squacco Heron.

Identification assistance for this avian species ...

The Squacco Heron is a bird about the size of a Francolin now called Spurfowl. The height of the Squacco Heron is about 43 cms and its weight is about 300 gms

You will find that the male Squacco Heron plumage and colours are different to that of the female Squacco Heron

  • Head is brown.
  • Eye is yellow.
  • Bill is greenish yellow.
  • Throat is white.
  • Back is brown.
  • Legs are red.

This bird has normally proportioned leg length.

Main diet items for this bird ...

The Squacco Heron feeds on the ground mainly

Invertebrates

Aquatic life forms

Breeding and nesting habits for this bird ...

The Squacco Heron is monogamous unless its mate dies. In the event of a partner dying Ardeola ralloides will seek out a new mate

The nesting habit of Squacco Heron is to create the nest on water. The bird lays eggs which are blue in colour and number between 2 to 4

Habitat and flocking behaviour for this bird ...

The preferred habitats for Squacco Heron are: wetlands and riverine areas

You will normally see the Squacco Heron by itself rather than in the company of birds of the same species.

Names of this avian species in other languages ...

Xhosa ... Unknown

Zulu ... Unknown

Afrikaans ...Ralreier

German ... Rallenreiher

Portuguese ... Gara-caranguejeira

French ... Crabier chevelu

Dutch ... Ralreiger

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For in-depth birding information please refer to these authoritative avian references ...

Robert's 7th edition number ... 72

The main reference source for this data was "Roberts - Birds of Southern Africa, 7th Edition" . Other references were "Newmans Birds of the Kruger Park" by Keith Newman published circa 1980 . Names in foreign languages were obtained from the Percy Fitzpatrick Institute of African Ornithology, University of Cape Town website , www.fitzpatrick.uct.ac.za