The purple heron is a large bird with a gracefully thin neck and dark purple coloured under parts. They prefer living in wet, vegetated ecosystems like marshlands and mangroves. They favour densely packed vegetation.
These birds have a liking for solitude and are not noisy. They can be spotted waiting in dense vegetation, with neck outstretched, looking for prey. Fish, small rodents, frogs, insects etc. are their usual preys. Although they prefer waiting in plant cover to attack a passing prey, they won’t mind a chase-and-stalk session either. They are active during dawn and dusk. In the middle of day and night, they roost along with other birds.
The purple heron is a very common bird in most parts of India and are also found in Europe, Africa and other regions of Asia. The IUCN observes that the decrease in wetland areas is driving down the population of these birds. But their numbers are still not low enough to be of any concern in the immediate future.
