---
title: "Black Heron"
description: "Egretta ardesiaca — Birds. The black heron (Egretta ardesiaca), also known as the black egret, is an African heron."
canonical: https://animalchecklist.com/animal/black-heron
last_updated: 2026-09-20
---

# Black Heron

> Egretta ardesiaca — Birds. The black heron (Egretta ardesiaca), also known as the black egret, is an African heron.

- Scientific name: *Egretta ardesiaca*
- Category: `birds` (Birds)
- Habitats: `freshwater` (Lakes & rivers)
- iNaturalist observations: 1417
- Wikidata: [Q392175](https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q392175)
- iNaturalist taxon: [4934](https://www.inaturalist.org/taxa/4934)

## Names

- en: Black Heron
- de: Glockenreiher
- es: Garceta Negra
- fr: Aigrette ardoisée
- nl: Zwarte reiger
- pt: Garça-preta
- pl: Czapla czarna

## Countries with the most observations

ZA (310), MG (192), BW (170), GM (141), TZ (90), SN (61), KE (47), ET (46), NG (43), NA (42), ZM (38), ZW (34)

## Summary

The black heron (Egretta ardesiaca), also known as the black egret, is an African heron. It uses its wings to form a canopy when fishing.

Text: Wikipedia (en), CC BY-SA 4.0 — https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_heron

## Photo

![Black Heron](https://animalchecklist.com/img/animals/black-heron/medium.jpg)

Photo: Лариса Артемьева · CC0 · inaturalist — https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/252032029

## Machine access

`GET https://animalchecklist.com/api/v1/animals/black-heron?lang=en` — see [openapi.json](https://animalchecklist.com/openapi.json).