Ardea sumatrana
Silhouette: Giles Laurent · PhyloPic
In 3 days ~60% in a week ~90%
The great-billed heron (Ardea sumatrana) is a wading bird of the heron family, resident from southeast Asia to Papua New Guinea and Australia. The great-billed heron is a large bird, typically standing 115 cm (45 in) tall and weighing up to 2.6 kg (5.7 lb). It resembles the purple heron in appearance, although it is larger and darker. The plumage is largely dark grey above. In flight, it has a uniform dark grey upperwing.
The flight is slow, with its neck retracted. This is characteristic of herons and bitterns, and distinguishes them from storks, cranes and spoonbills, which extend their necks. The species feeds in shallow water, spearing fish with its long, sharp bill. It will wait motionless for prey, or slowly stalk its victim.
Great-billed heron is polytypic, meaning that it has more than one subspecies. The two subspecies are most easily distinguished by their different locations: Ardea sumatrana mathewsae is found on the coasts of tropical northern Australia
Ardea sumatrana sumatrana is found on the coasts of southeastern Asia, Indonesia, Philippines, and New Guinea The great-billed heron has a very large range... Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Daintree National Park | 🇦🇺 Australia | |
| 2 | Komodo National Park | 🇮🇩 Indonesia | |
| 3 | Nitmiluk National Park | 🇦🇺 Australia | |
| 4 | Raja Ampat | 🇮🇩 Indonesia | |
| 5 | Bali Barat National Park | 🇮🇩 Indonesia | |
| 6 | Danum Valley Conservation Area | 🇲🇾 Malaysia | |
| 7 | Kakadu National Park | 🇦🇺 Australia | |
| 8 | Tangkoko Nature Reserve | 🇮🇩 Indonesia | |
| 9 | Kinabatangan Wildlife Sanctuary | 🇲🇾 Malaysia |
Possible
About 20% of wildlife watchers report a Great-billed Heron sighting in Komodo National Park on a given day, based on 106 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 26th most-seen of the 76 birds we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 60%, and over a week to about 90%, if each day is a fresh chance.
August
In that month about 40% of wildlife watchers report a Great-billed Heron in Komodo National Park on a given day, against about 10% in March, May and October, the lowest months. That is one of Komodo National Park's driest months, with about 10 mm of rain against 200 mm in January.
Between 9 am and noon
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Great-billed Heron sightings with a recorded time, and about 9 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.
2nd of 9
Of the 9 parks where we can rate Great-billed Heron sightings, Komodo National Park ranks 2nd at about 20%. The best odds are in Daintree National Park (Australia, about 30%).
Same family: Ardeidae
The closest relatives of the Great-billed Heron that you can see in Komodo National Park (family Ardeidae, Herons, Egrets, and Bitterns) are Pacific Reef Heron (about 60%) and Little Egret (about 10%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Great-billed Heron is recorded against all the birds logged in Komodo National Park (106 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.
