BirdBrain Academy

Herons · Ardeidae

Green Heron sounds

Butorides virescens

The Green Heron is a small heron of North and Central America, named for its greenish tones.

Learn bird sounds freeMore Green Heron recordings
Green Heron
Photo: Basar, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Listen to the Green Heron

Each recording below is a short excerpt with its spectrogram, a picture of the sound. Time runs left to right and higher pitches sit higher up. Play each one, then look for the same shape in the next. Different recordings of the same bird help you learn the bird, not one clip.

Call · recording 1 Spectrogram of a Green Heron call: time runs left to right and pitch rises upward

Recorded by Jonathon Jongsma, Theodore Wirth Park, Minneapolis, Hennepin, Minnesota, 2012-08-19. XC109391 on xeno-canto, CC BY-SA 3.0. Five-second excerpt.

Flight Call, Nocturnal Flight Call · recording 2 Spectrogram of a Green Heron flight call, nocturnal flight call: time runs left to right and pitch rises upward

Recorded by Jonathan Sowers, Skippack Township (near Collegeville), Montgomery County, Pennsylvania, 2023-07-05. XC817858 on xeno-canto, CC BY 4.0. Five-second excerpt.

What to listen for

The Green Heron's voice includes a loud, sudden kyow and more subdued kuk calls. During courtship, males give raah-rahh, whoom-whoom-whoom in flight, roo-roo before landing near the female, and aaroo-aaroo while sitting.

Many listeners write its call as “kyow”. Treat a written sound as a memory aid; individual birds and regions vary.

What it looks like

The Green Heron is a relatively small heron, about 44 cm long, often holding its neck tight against the body. Adults have a glossy greenish-black cap, iridescent greenish back and wings, a chestnut neck with white front lines, gray underparts, short yellow legs, and a dark pointed bill.

Where to find it

The Green Heron lives and forages around riparian zones, wetlands, ponds, lakes, canals, and ditches. It often stands still on shore or in shallow water, or perches on branches while waiting for prey.

BirdBrain regions that include this bird

  • Andean Region
  • California
  • Caribbean
  • Central America
  • Eastern Canada
  • Florida
  • Great Lakes
  • Mexico
  • Mid-Atlantic
  • New England
  • Northern South America
  • Northwest
  • Plains
  • Polynesia
  • Rocky Mountains
  • Southeast
  • Southwest
  • Texas
  • Western Canada
  • Western Europe

Did you know?

  • Green Herons may use insects, bread, feathers, or other objects as bait to lure fish.
  • They forage by day or night and may follow tidal rhythms along shores.
  • They are intolerant of other birds while feeding and are not seen foraging in groups.

Learn the Green Heron by ear

BirdBrain Academy teaches bird sounds with side-by-side listening and quizzes that use different recordings, so you learn the bird rather than one clip. Start with six free lessons, no signup needed. On your phone, Sound ID can name the birds singing around you.

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Related birds

Species notes are adapted from Wikipedia, available under CC BY-SA 4.0, and checked for BirdBrain. Recordings come from xeno-canto under the licenses shown with each one. Photo: Basar, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons. Identification guidance is educational; birds vary, so confirm unusual sightings with local experts or eBird.