Home › All birds › White-necked heron

The White-necked heron (Ardea pacifica) is a bird found in Australia. Wetlands and fields across Australia and New Guinea. It eats insects and other small invertebrates, fish and reptiles and frogs. The IUCN Red List lists it as Least Concern.

🏡 Where the White-necked heron lives

Wetlands and fields across Australia and New Guinea.

🍽️ What it eats

• 🐛 Insects & bugs50%
• 🐟 Fish40%
• 🦎 Reptiles & frogs10%

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

Conservation status

Hear the White-necked heron

Recorded by Mike FitzGerald (CC BY-NC-SA 4.0), xeno-canto XC511022. Trimmed to a few seconds.

Questions about the White-necked heron

Where does the White-necked heron live?

The White-necked heron lives in Australia. Wetlands and fields across Australia and New Guinea.

What does the White-necked heron eat?

insects and other small invertebrates (about 50%), fish (about 40%), reptiles and frogs (about 10%). These are rough shares of its diet over a year, from the EltonTraits database.

Is the White-necked heron endangered?

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

More birds from Australia & Oceania

• Straw-necked ibis
• Yellow-rumped thornbill
• Black noddy
• Chestnut teal
• Red-footed booby
• Bar-shouldered dove

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