Birda Logo
Features
Birda+
About
Species Guide
Challenges
Shop
loading...

Rufous-bellied Heron

Ardeola rufiventris

The Rufous-bellied Heron, a small and rather secretive bird, presents a striking contrast in its plumage. Its upper parts, including the head, back, and breast, are cloaked in a dark grey, while the underparts exhibit a warm rufous hue that extends to the wings and tail. In flight, one can't help but notice the bright yellow legs and feet that stand out against the dark feathers below.

Identification Tips

To identify this species, look for the distinctive rufous belly that gives the bird its name. The juveniles may initially confuse observers with their paler, browner tones, but they gradually darken as they mature. The yellow legs in flight are a key feature to watch for.

Habitat

The Rufous-bellied Heron favors wetlands, making its home in seasonally flooded grasslands, marshes, flood-plains such as the Okavango Delta, and along the banks of rivers and lakes. It is also known to inhabit papyrus stands, reedbeds, and paddies.

Distribution

This heron is native to sub-Saharan Africa, with its range extending across eastern, central, and southern regions. It is notably absent from the arid south-west.

Behaviour

A master of concealment, the Rufous-bellied Heron often adopts a bittern-like stance, remaining motionless with its bill horizontal to blend into the wetland vegetation. It is predominantly sedentary, though it may undertake partial migrations in response to the seasonal flooding of plains.

Breeding

The breeding season aligns with the rains or peak flooding in regions where this occurs early in the dry season. Rufous-bellied Herons nest colonially, often on the fringes of mixed-species colonies, with their nests being small platforms of vegetation situated low over standing water.

Diet and Feeding

The diet of the Rufous-bellied Heron primarily consists of small fish, such as tilapia and barbus, along with amphibians, crustaceans, aquatic insects, and other invertebrates found in their wetland habitats.

Conservation status

The Rufous-bellied Heron is currently classified as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List, indicating that, at present, there are no immediate threats to its population numbers.

App logo
Birda is a birdwatching app and community aimed at curious people who want to deepen their connection with nature.

Rufous-bellied Herons on Birda

Photos
Sightings

More Herons, Bitterns

A photo of a Agami Heron (Agamia agami)

Agami Heron

Agamia agami
Birda Logo

Your birdwatching journey like never before

Connect with nature in minutes
Take a walk, look out of the window and log the birds that you see. Feel good about those little connections to nature.
Discover the joy of birding
Find new birding spots, see more birds, share and celebrate with a like-minded community of nature lovers.
Play your part in saving nature
Logging your birding sightings and sessions turns into positive action for our planet. Every sighting counts.

Birda Blog

What Our Birders Say
778
Great bird recording
For a while I’ve been trying to find an app to easily record bird lists and day out and struggled to find one that I like. Birda is great for this, straightforward and a great community!
Alice J
Awesome Birding Community
I absolutely love the community aspect of this app. The app is so user friendly and has fun interactive challenges to get you out birding. I’ve tried others but since I’ve started using Birda I’ve not gone back!
Viperray5
Loving it
I really enjoy being able to interact with other birders on this platform! This seems like a great way to meet other birders and find some new spots.
Alex J
Friendly and helps to identify birds
Great birding app, good for logging your sightings, also has nice species guide. I'm enjoying the social aspect more than I expected, everyone seems friendly and helps to identify unknown birds. Good mix of newbies and experienced users.
Bryan C
Clean and easy to use
Really enjoying this app, it's clean and easy to use. I love the ease of being able to add those one-off birds without starting a whole checklist. I also like the social aspect, like the parts of my Facebook I like, without the ads and junk, just birds. Can't wait to see it become more populated.
David C
Very knowledgeable group
Nice friendly birding community. Very knowledgeable group with a willingness to help.
JCBirding
Just what birding needs
We need more fun in birding, for years it has had a reputation for being up tight and stuffy and only perused by retirees and anoraks. Birda helps change that perception and firmly brings birding into the 21st century! Fun, interactive while still contributing to science and conservation. If you aren’t on it, why not??
SW H
Wonderful App
Birda is my go to app for keeping records of my bird sightings and sessions. It has fantastic information which is great at aiding identification. With all the updates that are coming in the new year, this app is something special.
Sacha0508
Simply fantastic
I love this app, it puts so much fun into recording the birds I’ve seen and heard while I’m out and about. The interface is user-friendly and suitable for all ages. It’s great to collect badges and to review my β€œlists”.
Nick S
Work together with community
Been loving using this app to log my bird sightings and work together with community members to identify different birds. I've already learned a lot since I started about a month ago!
As featured in
Birda Logo
AboutPressAmbassadorsAffiliatesInfluencersCareersPrivacyTerms & Conditions
An app for birdwatchers
Connect with us
Copyright Β© 2024 Chirp Birding. All rights reserved.