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  1. Species
  2. ›
  3. Ardeidae
  4. ›
  5. Ardea
  6. ›
  7. Great-billed Heron
Great-billed Heron
Photo · (c) Genevieve Early, some rights reserved (CC BY)

BirdUp · Species

Great-billed Heron

Ardea sumatranaRaffles, 1822

Updated 21 March 2026

Origin: Native
Order
PELECANIFORMES
Family
Ardeidae
Genus
Ardea

At a glance

The Great-billed Heron is a very large bird, about 100–110 cm long, native to Australia. It can be seen year-round.

Size
100–110 cm
Origin
Native
Best seen
Year-round
Commonness
Very common
  • Identification
  • Where
  • When
  • Behaviour
  • Gallery

01 · Identification

How to tell it apart

What does a Great-billed Heron look like?

The Great-billed Heron is a very large bird, about 100–110 cm long and weighing 1300–2600 g.

The great-billed heron is a wading bird of the heron family, resident from southeast Asia to Papua New Guinea and Australia.

Description · wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0

Field specs

Length
100–110 cm
Weight
1300–2600 g

Measurements · avonet · CC BY 4.0

03 · When

When to look

When can you see a Great-billed Heron?

The Great-billed Heron is present across its Australian range year-round, so it can be seen in any month.

  1. Jan
  2. Feb
  3. Mar
  4. Apr
  5. May
  6. Jun
  7. Jul
  8. Aug
  9. Sep
  10. Oct
  11. Nov
  12. Dec

05 · Behaviour

Habits and haunts

What does a Great-billed Heron eat?

The Great-billed Heron feeds on intertidal invertebrates and fish/invertebrates, usually foraging alone.

06 · Gallery

Plumage up close

6 photos

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02 · Where

Where to find it

Where does the Great-billed Heron live in Australia?

The Great-billed Heron is native to Australia, recorded across 25 of Australia’s bioregions.

BreedingOR, AU : south-east Asia and west Philippines to north Australia and New Guinea

Distribution from BirdUp Australia community data

Legend

  • Breeding
  • Vagrant
  • Resident

7 regions recorded