Grey herons, tall noble birds once thought divine, are now arriving for winter

^{Grey Heron, spotted by an alert BUZZ reader, on the Sai Kung waterfront}

A walk on the Sai Kung waterfront will likely be rewarded now by the sight of a grey heron or two. They are arriving for the winter and may be seen perched on boats or rocks off-shore.

These are big birds standing up to 1 m tall. The plumage is largely ashy-grey and greyish-white below. Adults have a white head and neck with a broad black supercilium terminating in the slender crest plus bluish-black streaks on the neck. Juveniles are generally duller in appearance. The pinkish yellow beak is powerful, the legs long and brown.

^{Photo: Ferran Pestana}

The main call is a loud croak, “fraank”. If a male is defending a nest you may hear an aggressive “schaah”. If the bird feels anxious, because you’re walking by for example, it may chant appropriately “gogogo”.

You may see a grey heron flying with its long neck retracted so it forms an “S” shape. It flies with slow wing-beats and may glide for short distances. Sometimes it will soar to great height. But they spend a lot of time on the ground, usually in shallow water, intelligently watching for prey, standing on one leg. They eat fish, amphibians, crustaceans and insects. Sometimes they will catch a large creature and have difficulty swallowing it.

^{Grey Heron at Tsing Yi Park, Hong Kong Photo: Neil Cairns}

Breeding takes place between February and June. A male will call from his chosen nesting site. When a female arrives, both birds will take part in a stretching ceremony, extending its neck vertically, before bringing it backward and downwards, while flexing its legs. This may be repeated up to 40 times. When the pairing is settled the birds will caress each other’s plumage. The male may then offer the female a stick, which she positions in the nest. The male gets excited, further pluming his mate, then they copulate. In the wild most grey herons live only about five years.

In ancient Rome, herons were considered divine, capable of warning with their cries about impending events. In the middle ages in Britain, they were associated with chivalry and featured on coats of arms because their patient, noble behaviour was considered stoic.