{{Short description|Species of bird}} {{For|the steamship|SS Black Heron{{!}}SS ''Black Heron''}} {{Speciesbox | image = Black heron, Egretta ardesiaca, at Marievale Nature Reserve, Gauteng, South Africa. (25201552667).jpg | image_caption = Black heron canopy feeding | status = LC | status_system = IUCN3.1 | status_ref = <ref name="iucn status 12 November 2021">{{cite iucn |author=BirdLife International |date=2016 |title=''Egretta ardesiaca'' |volume=2016 |article-number=e.T22696926A93593568 |doi=10.2305/IUCN.UK.2016-3.RLTS.T22696926A93593568.en |access-date=12 November 2021}}</ref> | taxon = Egretta ardesiaca | authority = (Wagler, 1827)<ref name = ITIS>{{cite web | url = https://www.itis.gov/servlet/SingleRpt/SingleRpt?search_topic=TSN&search_value=174819#null | title = ''Egretta ardesiaca'' (Wagler, 1827) | access-date = 2016-11-13 | publisher = Integrated Taxonomic Information System (ITIS)}}</ref> | range_map = Egretta ardesiaca map.svg }}
The '''black heron''' ('''''Egretta ardesiaca'''''), also known as the '''black egret''', is an African heron. It uses its wings to form a canopy when fishing.
==Description== thumb|left|Lake Naivasha - Kenya [[File:Balck Heron canopy crop.jpg|thumb|Black herons canopy feeding east of Antananarivo, Madagascar]]
[[File:Egretta ardesiaca MHNT.ZOO.2010.11.52.7.jpg|thumb| ''Egretta ardesiaca'' - MHNT{{Contradictory inline|section=Habits|reason='Habits' section says eggs are dark blue|date=February 2024}}]]
The black heron is a medium-sized bird, with a typical height range of {{convert|42.5|to|66|cm|in|abbr=on}}. Their weight can range from {{convert|0.27|to|0.39|kg|lb|abbr=on}}. They are known for their black plumage, black bill, and yellow feet. In breeding plumage it grows long plumes on the crown and nape.<ref name = Hancock>{{cite book | author1 = James Hancock | author2 = James Kushlan | year = 1984 |title = The Herons Handbook | pages = 101–104 | publisher = Croom Helm | isbn = 0-7099-3716-4}}</ref>
==Distribution and habitat== The black heron occurs patchily through Sub-Saharan Africa, from Senegal and Sudan to South Africa, but is found mainly on the eastern half of the continent and in Madagascar.<ref name = Hancock/> It has also been observed in Greece<ref name = "Hellenic"/> and Italy and Seapoint in Dublin, Ireland by LoLo Tully.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2017-05-05 |title=ML608931269 - Black Heron - Macaulay Library |url=https://macaulaylibrary.org/asset/608931269 |access-date=2025-04-04 |website=macaulaylibrary.org}}</ref>
It prefers shallow open waters, such as the edges of freshwater lakes and ponds. It may also be found in marshes, river edges, rice fields, and seasonally flooded grasslands. In coastal areas, it may be found feeding along tidal rivers and creeks, in alkaline lakes, and tidal flats.
==Habits== The black heron uses a hunting method called ''canopy feeding'' — it uses its wings like an umbrella, creating shade that attracts fish. This technique was documented on episode 5 of the BBC's ''The Life of Birds'', and in the "Nighttime Daytime" sketch from BBC's ''Walk on the Wild Side''.<ref name =LoB>{{cite book | author1 = David Attenborough | year = 1998 | title = Life of Birds | pages = 122–123 | publisher = BBV | isbn = 0563-38792-0}}</ref> Some have been observed feeding solitarily, while others feed in groups of up to 50 individuals, 200 being the highest number reported. The black heron feeds by day but especially prefers the time around sunset. It roosts communally at night, and coastal flocks roost at high tide. The primary food of the black heron is small fish, but it will also eat aquatic insects, crustaceans and amphibians.<ref name = Hancock/>
The nest of the black heron is constructed of twigs placed over water in trees, bushes, and reed beds, forming a solid structure. The heron nests at the beginning of the rainy season, in single or mixed-species colonies that may number in the hundreds. The eggs are dark blue{{Contradictory inline|section=Description|reason='Description' section contains image of white eggs|date=February 2024}} and the clutch is two to four eggs.<ref name = Hancock/>
==References== {{Reflist | refs = <ref name = "Hellenic">{{cite web | title = Hellenic Rarities Committee Annual Report – 2012 | url = http://files.ornithologiki.gr/docs/rarities/annual_report_2012_en.pdf | publisher = Hellenic Ornithological Society | year = 2012 | page = 2}}</ref> }}
==External links== {{Commons category|Egretta ardesiaca}} {{Wikispecies|Egretta ardesiaca}} * [https://web.archive.org/web/20131003111737/http://cabinetoffreshwatercuriosities.com/2010/11/22/black-heron/ Black Heron - ''Egretta ardesiaca''] The BioFresh Cabinet of Freshwater Curiosities *[http://sabap2.adu.org.za/docs/sabap1/069.pdf Black Egret] - ''The Atlas of Southern African Birds'' * ''[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZbvPcnvFGQo Video - Black Heron displaying Canopy Feeding Technique]''
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black heron black heron Category:Birds of Sub-Saharan Africa black heron