Listen to the green heron
Tip: press play to see the sound's live frequency spectrum in blue over the waveform.
About the green heron
The green heron is a bird in the family Ardeidae (order Pelecaniformes).
What does the green heron sound like?
Most birds have two kinds of vocalisation: songs, which are learned or innate phrases delivered mainly in spring and summer, and calls – brief contact, alarm and begging notes heard all year round. Listening for both helps with identification.
The recordings here are labelled as call and song. Listen for differences in rhythm, pitch and repetition – the spectrum display makes it easy to see whether a sound is a pure whistle (a thin line), a harsh call (a broad band) or a trill (rapid repeated marks).
From Wikipedia
The green heron (Butorides virescens) is a small heron of North and Central America. Butorides is from Middle English butor "bittern" and Ancient Greek -oides, "resembling", and virescens is Latin for "greenish".
It was long considered conspecific with its sister species the striated heron (Butorides striata); when treated together, they were called "green-backed heron".
Related birds in the genus Butorides
More from the family Ardeidae
Grey heron
Ardea cinerea
Great egret
Ardea alba
Black-crowned night heron
Nycticorax nycticorax
Eurasian bittern
Botaurus stellaris
Little egret
Egretta garzetta
Purple heron
Ardea purpurea
Little bittern
Botaurus minutus
Indian pond heron
Ardeola grayii
Agami heron
Agamia agami
American bittern
Botaurus lentiginosus
Black-headed heron
Ardea melanocephala
Frequently asked questions
What does a green heron sound like?
You can hear 2 recordings of the green heron on this page, including its call and song. Most birds have two kinds of vocalisation: songs, which are learned or innate phrases delivered mainly in spring and summer, and calls – brief contact, alarm and begging notes heard all year round.
What family does the green heron belong to?
The green heron (Butorides virescens) belongs to the family Ardeidae in the order Pelecaniformes.
Sources & credits
- Call · Theodore Wirth Park, Minneapolis, Hennepin, Minnesota… by Jonathon Jongsma – CC BY-SA 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons
- Song · Carroll Township (near Dillsburg), York County… by Audrey Plassio – CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons
- Wikidata Q498228 – CC0
- Wikipedia: Green heron – CC BY-SA 4.0
- Photo by Basar – CC BY-SA 3.0