Great-billed Heron

Ardea sumatrana Raffles, 1822

Great-billed Heron, Ardea sumatrana, is a heron of the Oriental Region and Australasia, breeding from south-east Asia and the western Philippines to northern Australia and New Guinea. It is a wading bird in the family Ardeidae, first described by Raffles in 1822. It is mainly found along coasts, including islands, coral reefs, mangroves and large rivers, though it can also occur inland in shallow ponds. Two subspecies are recognised, with one in tropical northern Australia and the other across south-east Asia, Indonesia, the Philippines and New Guinea.

Order

Pelecaniformes

Family

Ardeidae — Herons, Bitterns

Breeding range

Oriental Region, Australasia: se Asia and w Philippines to n Australia and New Guinea