Listen to the Indian pond heron
Tip: press play to see the sound's live frequency spectrum in blue over the waveform.
About the Indian pond heron
The Indian pond heron is a bird in the family Ardeidae (order Pelecaniformes). Its conservation status on the IUCN Red List is “least concern”. Adults have a wingspan of about 83 cm and weigh around 255 g.
What does the Indian pond heron sound like?
Birds produce sound with the syrinx, a vocal organ deep in the chest that can make two independent sounds at once. Songs tend to be long and patterned and are used to hold territory and attract a mate; calls are short signals for contact, alarm and flight.
The recordings here are labelled as alarm call and flight call. 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 Indian pond heron or paddybird (Ardeola grayii) is a small heron. It is of Old World origins, breeding in southern Iran and east to the Indian subcontinent, Burma, and Sri Lanka. They are widespread and common but can be easily missed when they stalk prey at the edge of small water-bodies or even when they roost close to human habitations.
They are distinctive when they take off, with bright white wings flashing in contrast to the cryptic streaked olive and brown colours of the body. Their camouflage is so excellent that they can be approached closely before they take to flight, a behaviour which has resulted in folk names and beliefs that the birds are short-sighted or blind.
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
Striated heron
Butorides striata
Agami heron
Agamia agami
American bittern
Botaurus lentiginosus
Black-headed heron
Ardea melanocephala
Green heron
Butorides virescens
Frequently asked questions
What does an Indian pond heron sound like?
You can hear 1 recording of the Indian pond heron on this page, including its alarm call and flight call. Birds produce sound with the syrinx, a vocal organ deep in the chest that can make two independent sounds at once.
Is the Indian pond heron endangered?
The IUCN Red List classifies the Indian pond heron as “least concern”.
What family does the Indian pond heron belong to?
The Indian pond heron (Ardeola grayii) belongs to the family Ardeidae in the order Pelecaniformes.
Sources & credits
- Alarm call, flight call · Mangalajodi, Khordha, Odisha by Sudipto Roy – CC BY-SA 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons
- Wikidata Q498428 – CC0
- Wikipedia: Indian pond heron – CC BY-SA 4.0
- Photo by Vivek Puliyeri – CC BY-SA 4.0