Striated heron

Butorides striata

The Striated heron (Butorides striata) is a bird found in Brazil, Australia, Colombia, South Africa, India, Ecuador, and 2 more countries. Mangroves and river banks in warm countries around the world. It eats fish, insects and other small invertebrates and reptiles and frogs. The IUCN Red List lists it as Least Concern.

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Scientific name	Butorides striata
Region	South America
Found in	Brazil, Australia, Colombia, South Africa, India, Ecuador, and 2 more countries

🏡 Where the Striated heron lives

Mangroves and river banks in warm countries around the world.

🍽️ What it eats

🐟 Fish40%
🐛 Insects & bugs30%
🦎 Reptiles & frogs30%

A rough guide to its diet over a year. Source: EltonTraits (Wilman et al. 2014).

Conservation status

LCNTVUENCREWEX

Least ConcernThere are plenty of these birds.

💡 It drops bits of bait in the water to lure fish, which is very clever.

Hear the Striated heron

Recorded by David Darrell-Lambert (CC BY-NC-SA 4.0), xeno-canto XC1186963. Trimmed to a few seconds.

Questions about the Striated heron

Where does the Striated heron live?

The Striated heron lives in Brazil, Australia, Colombia, South Africa, India, Ecuador, and 2 more countries. Mangroves and river banks in warm countries around the world.

What does the Striated heron eat?

fish (about 40%), insects and other small invertebrates (about 30%), reptiles and frogs (about 30%). These are rough shares of its diet over a year, from the EltonTraits database.

Is the Striated heron endangered?

There are plenty of these birds. Its IUCN Red List category is Least Concern.

More birds from South America

Sources: IUCN Red List (via Wikidata), EltonTraits 1.0 (Wilman et al. 2014), GBIF sightings for countries, Wikipedia. Last updated 2026-10-19.