Description:

A large, elegant, pale grey heron, with a slim bill and black stripes on fore neck. Adult has yellow bill, whitish head and neck with black head plumes, and black patches on belly. Immature has dark cap with variable crest, greyer neck, and lacks or has reduced black on belly.

Distribution:

Common passage migrant through all major waterways and lakes of Gilgit-Baltistan. Occurs around freshwater or brackish marshes, lakes, pools and rivers with surrounding cultivation, reed-beds or vegetation. Found up to 4200m.

Behavior:

Passive feeder, typically employing standing and walking slowly; more exceptionally running, swimming feeding, diving and plunging. Feeds by day, mostly in morning and evening. Mainly fish, but diet varies with habitat and season. Also takes amphibians, crabs, young turtles, molluscs, crustaceans, aquatic insects, snakes and other small vertebrates.

Photo Gallery:

Range & Occurrence:

Resident Species

Summer Breeder

Winter Visitor

Passage Migrant

Distribution Map of Grey Heron in Gilgit-Baltistan (Status: )

Seasonal Occurrence of Grey Heron

Resources:

Birds of Pakistan: Helm Field Guides (R. Grimmett & T. Inskipp)
The Birds of Pakistan (T. J. Roberts)
Birds of the Indian Subcontinent (C. Inskipp, R. Grimmett & T. Inskipp)
Birds of South Asia: The Ripley Guide (P. Rasmussen & J. Anderton)
Birds of India: Collins Field Guide (N. Arlott)
Handbook of the Birds of India and Pakistan (S. Ali & S. D. Ripley)
Handbook of the Birds of the World (https://www.hbw.com)
The Clements Checklist of Birds of the World, 6th Edition
iNaturalist BoGB (inaturalist.org/projects/birds-of-gilgit-baltistan)
Birds of Gilgit-Baltistan (http://fb.me/birdsgb)

*Gallery images on this page are shared from flickr.com, and are copyrighted to their respective creators or owners.