Egretta novaehollandiae
Silhouette: L. Shyamal · PhyloPic
In 3 days ~50% in a week ~80%
The white-faced heron (Egretta novaehollandiae) also known as the white-fronted heron, and incorrectly as the grey heron, or blue crane, is a common bird throughout most of Australasia, including New Guinea, the islands of Torres Strait, Indonesia, New Zealand, and all but the driest areas of Australia.
It is a medium-sized heron, pale, slightly bluish-grey, with yellow legs and white facial markings. It can be found almost anywhere near shallow water, fresh or salt, and although it is prompt to depart the scene on long, slow-beating wings if disturbed, it will boldly raid suburban fish ponds.
The white-faced heron was formally described in 1790 by the English ornithologist John Latham. He placed it with the herons in the genus Ardea and coined the binomial name Ardea novaehollandiae. Latham based his account on the "white-fronted heron" that had been described and illustrated in 1789 by the first Governor of New South Wales Arthur Phillip in his book The Voyage of Governor Phillip to Botany Bay.
It was historically considered to be closely related to Ardea but for some time it was placed in its own genus—Notophoyx—because of the absence of the plumes typical in that... Wikipedia →
| # | Zoo / Centre | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Pairi Daiza | 🇧🇪 Belgium | |
| 2 | Tierpark Berlin | 🇩🇪 Germany | |
| 3 | Planckendael Zoo | 🇧🇪 Belgium | |
| 4 | Melbourne Zoo | 🇦🇺 Australia | |
| 5 | Auckland Zoo | 🇳🇿 New Zealand | |
| 6 | Loro Parque | 🇪🇸 Spain | |
| 7 | Willowbank Wildlife Reserve | 🇳🇿 New Zealand | |
| 8 | Featherdale Sydney Wildlife Park | 🇦🇺 Australia | |
| 9 | Ipswich Nature Centre | 🇦🇺 Australia | |
| 10 | Ōtorohanga Kiwi House | 🇳🇿 New Zealand | |
| 11 | Skærup Zoo | 🇩🇰 Denmark | |
| 12 | Birdworld Kuranda | 🇦🇺 Australia | |
| 13 | Kuranda Koala Gardens | 🇦🇺 Australia |
Possible
About 20% of wildlife watchers report a White-faced Heron sighting in Daintree National Park on a given day, based on 376 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 47th most-seen of the 208 birds we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 50%, and over a week to about 80%, if each day is a fresh chance.
June and November
In those months about 30% of wildlife watchers report a White-faced Heron in Daintree National Park on a given day, against about 10% in January to March, the lowest months. Those are among Daintree National Park's driest months, with about 75 mm of rain a month against 380 mm in January.
Between 1 and 4 pm
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most White-faced Heron sightings with a recorded time, and nearly all of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.
10th of 28
Of the 28 parks where we can rate White-faced Heron sightings, Daintree National Park ranks 10th at about 20%. The best odds are in Abel Tasman National Park (New Zealand, about 40%), Maria Island National Park (Australia, about 40%) and Cape Range (Australia, about 40%). All parks ranked.
Same genus: Egretta
The closest relatives of the White-faced Heron that you can see in Daintree National Park (genus Egretta, Small Egrets and Herons) are Little Egret (about 20%), intermediate egret (about 10%) and Pacific Reef Heron (about 10%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the White-faced Heron is recorded against all the birds logged in Daintree National Park (376 verified sightings from 2019 to 2026), calibrated against known sighting rates. Figures are rounded to the nearest 10% because citizen-science data supports honest approximations, not decimals, and months with records from fewer than five people show "—". How it works.
