Grey heron

The grey heron, Ardea cinerea, is a large wading bird of the heron family Ardeidae, native throughout temperate Europe and Asia and parts of Africa. It stands up to a meter tall and weighs 1 to 2 kilograms, with a white head and neck marked by a broad black stripe running from the eye to a black crest, grey upperparts, greyish-white underparts with black flanking, a long sharply pointed pinkish-yellow beak and brown legs. It inhabits lakes, rivers, ponds, marshes and sea coasts, hunting by standing motionless in shallow water or stalking prey such as fish, amphibians and crustaceans. Grey herons breed colonially in spring in heronries, building nests high in trees and typically laying three to five bluish-green eggs that incubate for about 25 days; the IUCN lists the species as Least Concern.