---
title: "Garça-de-cabeça-preta"
description: "Ardea melanocephala — Aves. The black-headed heron (Ardea melanocephala) is a wading bird of the heron family Ardeidae, common throughout much of sub-Saharan Africa and Madagascar."
canonical: https://animalchecklist.com/pt/animal/black-headed-heron
last_updated: 2026-09-20
---

# Garça-de-cabeça-preta

> Ardea melanocephala — Aves. The black-headed heron (Ardea melanocephala) is a wading bird of the heron family Ardeidae, common throughout much of sub-Saharan Africa and Madagascar.

- Scientific name: *Ardea melanocephala*
- Category: `birds` (Aves)
- Habitats: `freshwater` (Lagos e rios)
- iNaturalist observations: 9697
- Wikidata: [Q220578](https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q220578)
- iNaturalist taxon: [4972](https://www.inaturalist.org/taxa/4972)

## Names

- en: Black-headed Heron
- de: Schwarzhalsreiher
- es: Garza de cabeza negra
- fr: Héron mélanocéphale
- nl: Zwartkopreiger
- pt: Garça-de-cabeça-preta
- pl: Czapla czarnogłowa

## Countries with the most observations

ZA (5586), KE (1068), TZ (997), UG (307), GM (183), NA (182), BJ (152), ZM (146), MW (117), ZW (117), RW (108), BW (47)

## Summary

The black-headed heron (Ardea melanocephala) is a wading bird of the heron family Ardeidae, common throughout much of sub-Saharan Africa and Madagascar. It is mainly resident, but some west African birds move further north in the rainy season.
This species usually breeds in the wet season in colonies in trees, reedbeds or cliffs. It builds a bulky stick nest and lays 2–4 eggs.
It often feeds in shallow water, spearing fish or frogs with its long, sharp bill. It also hunts well away from water, taking large insects, small mammals, and birds. It waits motionless for its prey, or slowly stalk its victim.
The black-headed…

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

## Photo

![Garça-de-cabeça-preta](https://animalchecklist.com/img/animals/black-headed-heron/medium.jpg)

Photo: Paula Zermoglio · CC0 · inaturalist — https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/277559570

## Machine access

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