Butorides sundevalli
Silhouette: Andy Wilson · PhyloPic
In 3 days ~90% in a week >90%
The lava heron (Butorides sundevalli), also known as the Galápagos heron, is a species of heron endemic to the Galápagos Islands of Ecuador. It was considered by some authorities, including the American Ornithological Society and BirdLife International, to be a subspecies (or even just a colour morph) of the striated heron (B. striata), and was formerly lumped with this species and the green heron (B. virescens) as the green-backed heron. Recent research has shown (unexpectedly) that it is more closely related to the North American green heron, than it is to the geographically much closer South American striated heron, and its status as a Galápagos endemic species is now universally accepted.
The adult is slate-grey to black, which allows it to blend in with the hardened lava. The back feathers typically have a silvery sheen and it has a short crest on its head. When breeding, the heron has a black beak and bright orange legs, but these fade to grey after the breeding season.
These highly territorial birds are found in intertidal zones and mangrove swamps on all of the islands of Galápagos Province. The lava... Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Galápagos Islands | 🇪🇨 Ecuador |
More parks will be added in future updates.
Likely
About 60% of wildlife watchers report a Lava Heron sighting in Galápagos Islands on a given day, based on 1,354 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 8th most-seen of the 114 birds we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 90%, and over a week to over 90%, if each day is a fresh chance.
August and December–June
In those months about 60% of wildlife watchers report a Lava Heron in Galápagos Islands on a given day, against about 50% in July and September–November, the lowest months.
Between 3 and 6 pm
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Lava Heron sightings with a recorded time, and about 8 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.
Only Galápagos Islands, in our data
Galápagos Islands is the only park on Wallace's Line with enough records to rate Lava Heron sightings: about 60% of wildlife watchers there report one on a given day.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Lava Heron is recorded against all the birds logged in Galápagos Islands (1,354 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.
