Ardea sumatrana
Silhouette: Giles Laurent · PhyloPic
In 3 days ~20% in a week ~40%
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 |
With luck
About 10% of wildlife watchers report a Great-billed Heron sighting in Raja Ampat on a given day, based on 108 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 108th most-seen of the 200 birds we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 20%, and over a week to about 40%, if each day is a fresh chance.
November
In that month about 20% of wildlife watchers report a Great-billed Heron in Raja Ampat on a given day, against under 5% in February, May and July–August, the lowest months.
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.
4th of 9
Of the 9 parks where we can rate Great-billed Heron sightings, Raja Ampat ranks 4th at about 10%. The best odds are in Daintree National Park (Australia, about 30%), Komodo National Park (Indonesia, about 20%) and Nitmiluk National Park (Australia, about 10%).
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Great-billed Heron is recorded against all the birds logged in Raja Ampat (108 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.
