Wildlife of Everywhere

Where to see the Purple Heron

Ardea purpurea · bird · Ardeidae

Purple Heron (Ardea purpurea) is recorded in 2,380 protected areas and wildlife sites across 91 countries in our database. The places with the strongest evidence are Zone tampon de la réserve de biosphère de Camargue (France), Kevladev National Park (India) and Camargue Regional Natural Park (France).

2,380places
91countries
14trip reports
See all places on the map
Purple Heron
Photo: Imran Shah (CC BY-SA 4.0)

Where is the best place to see the Purple Heron?

Based on GBIF records and our guides, the best-documented places to see the Purple Heron are Zone tampon de la réserve de biosphère de Camargue (France), Kevladev National Park (India) and Camargue Regional Natural Park (France). Most sites are in South Africa (300), India (269) and France (179). It appears in 14 trip reports in our library.

Top 25 places for the Purple Heron

#PlaceCountryGBIF recordsYearsEvidence
1Zone tampon de la réserve de biosphère de CamargueFrance6,5081880–2026Recorded on GBIF
2Kevladev National ParkIndia6,4611970–2026Recorded on GBIF
3Camargue Regional Natural ParkFrance6,2031887–2026Recorded on GBIF
4Parque Regional del SuresteSpain3,6571994–2026Recorded on GBIF
5Delta de l'Ebre Natural ParkSpain3,4131977–2026Recorded on GBIF
6彰雲嘉沿海保護區Taiwan3,1511988–2024Recorded on GBIF
7Aveiro LagoonPortugal3,0921993–2026Recorded on GBIF
8Ria de AveiroPortugal3,0891993–2026Recorded on GBIF
9Garden Route National ParkSouth Africa2,8201982–2026Recorded on GBIF
10蘭陽海岸保護區Taiwan2,6601979–2026Recorded on GBIF
11Sultanpur National ParkIndia2,4841982–2025Recorded on GBIF
12Sultanpur National Park ESZIndia2,4841982–2025Recorded on GBIF
13Okhla SanctuaryIndia2,3981979–2024Recorded on GBIF
14Kruger National ParkSouth Africa2,3851974–2026Recorded on GBIF
15Tagus Estuary Special Protection AreaPortugal2,2741979–2026Recorded on GBIF
16Tagus EstuaryPortugal2,2711979–2026Recorded on GBIF
17鰲鼓野生動物重要棲息環境Taiwan2,2201988–2024Recorded on GBIF
18S'Albufera de Mallorca Natural ParkSpain2,1971968–2026Recorded on GBIF
19Danube Delta Biosphere ReserveRomania2,1381969–2026Recorded on GBIF
20Nal Sarovar Bird SanctuaryIndia1,9261991–2024Recorded on GBIF
21Sungei Buloh Wetland ReserveSingapore1,8771990–2026Recorded on GBIF
22WagbachniederungGermany1,8371975–2026Recorded on GBIF
23Pallikaranai MarshIndia1,7622010–2024Recorded on GBIF
24Mabamba Bay (IBA)Uganda1,7442000–2026Recorded on GBIF
25Kruger to Canyons Biosphere ReserveSouth Africa1,7161974–2026Recorded on GBIF

2,355 more places in the interactive map.

By country

South Africa: 300, India: 269, France: 179, Spain: 176, Italy: 107, Portugal: 91, Germany: 83, Turkey: 61, Netherlands: 58, United Kingdom: 58, Greece: 56, Ukraine: 46, Malaysia: 42, Indonesia: 41, Kenya: 39, Uganda: 38, Bulgaria: 38, Thailand: 37, Israel: 32, Botswana: 31, China: 30, Belgium: 29, Taiwan: 27, Hungary: 27, Sri Lanka: 20, Serbia: 20, Zambia: 20, Slovakia: 19, Namibia: 19, Czechia: 19, Iran: 19, Zimbabwe: 18, Madagascar: 17, Tanzania: 17, Philippines: 17, Georgia: 15, Austria: 14, Switzerland: 14, Russia: 14, Mozambique: 12, Egypt: 10, Romania: 9, Gambia: 9, Vietnam: 8, Croatia: 8, Ghana: 8, Albania: 8, Poland: 8, United Arab Emirates: 7, Morocco: 7, Sweden: 7, Cambodia: 6, eSwatini: 6, Cyprus: 6, Montenegro: 6, Senegal: 5, Slovenia: 5, Benin: 5, Dem. Rep. Congo: 5, Singapore: 4, Congo: 4, Nepal: 4, Ethiopia: 4, Norway: 4, Guinea-Bissau: 4, Armenia: 3, Jordan: 3, Moldova: 3, Kazakhstan: 3, Palestine: 3, S. Sudan: 3, Japan: 2, Malawi: 2, Gabon: 2, Angola: 2, Nigeria: 2, Bosnia and Herz.: 2, Malta: 2, Chad: 2, Uzbekistan: 2, Oman: 2, Niger: 2, Laos: 2, Cameroon: 2, Central African Rep.: 2, Iceland: 2, Bangladesh: 2, Kuwait: 1, Rwanda: 1, Lebanon: 1 and Myanmar: 1.

Seen on trips

The Purple Heron is recorded in these trip reports:

and 4 more.

Tours that have recorded it

In our guides

Read the full species account in our Borneo guide, Sumatra guide, Sulawesi guide, Singapore guide.

Take it with you

Build a free printable field guide or e-book for any of these places, with photos and a checklist.

Make a field guide for Zone tampon de la réserve de biosphère de Camargue

Photo: Imran Shah, CC BY-SA 4.0.

GBIF downloads: France, India, Spain, Taiwan, Portugal, South Africa, Romania, Singapore, Germany, Uganda, Cambodia, Hungary.

Data last updated 2026-11-05. Species–place links come from GBIF occurrence downloads (GBIF.org) matched to protected-area boundaries from OpenStreetMap (© OpenStreetMap contributors, ODbL) and other open boundary sources, plus places listed by our own guides. Record counts are what has been reported to GBIF, not population sizes. Reptiles and amphibians are never shown at park level. How this database works · Data sources and limits.