Green Heron
Butorides virescens
- KingdomAnimalia (Animals)
- PhylumChordata (Cordats)
- ClassAves (Aus)
- OrderPelecaniformes (Pelicaniformes)
- FamilyArdeidae (Herons, Egrets, and Bitterns)
- GenusButorides (Green-backed Herons)
- SpeciesButorides virescens (Green Heron)
The green heron (Butorides virescens) is a small heron of North and Central America. Butorides is from Middle English butor "bittern" and Ancient Greek -oides, "resembling", and virescens is Latin for "greenish". It was long considered conspecific with its sister species the striated heron (Butorides striata); when treated together, they were called "green-backed heron". Wikipedia →
10–20% of wildlife watchers report a Green Heron sighting in Sian Ka'an Biosphere Reserve, based on 276 days of visitor records from GBIF citizen-science data.
Closest Relatives at Sian Ka'an Biosphere Reserve
Great Egret
Ardea alba
Great Blue Heron
Ardea herodias
Little Blue Heron
Egretta caerulea
Bare-throated Tiger Heron
Tigrisoma mexicanum
Tricolored Heron
Egretta tricolor
Snowy Egret
Egretta thula
Yellow-crowned Night-Heron
Nyctanassa violacea
Cattle Egret
Bubulcus ibis
Reddish Egret
Egretta rufescens
Boat-billed Heron
Cochlearius cochlearius
Black-crowned Night Heron
Nycticorax nycticorax
Pinnated Bittern
Botaurus pinnatus
📅 Monthly Probability
☀️ When They're Spotted
Most active during daytime hours (6am–6pm) · across all parks (global)
Global Distribution
Where this species is recorded worldwide. Restricted to human observations from 2019 onwards — the same kind of record and the same period the probabilities on this page are built from, so collar-tracking studies, camera-trap arrays and museum specimens are excluded. Around Santa Rosa that removes 5,924 GPS fixes from a handful of tagged jaguars.
where this species is recorded (GBIF density — it tracks where observers go, not how likely a sighting is) · parks where it occurs — tap a pin for the sighting probability there
Parks Where Found
Quick answers
What are the chances of seeing a Green Heron in Sian Ka'an Biosphere Reserve?
About 13% of wildlife watchers report a Green Heron sighting in Sian Ka'an Biosphere Reserve, based on 276 days of visitor records from GBIF citizen-science data.
When is the best time to see Green Heron in Sian Ka'an Biosphere Reserve?
August has the highest sighting rate for Green Heron in Sian Ka'an Biosphere Reserve in our monthly data.