MyKrugerHoliday
Photo: Derek Keats from Johannesburg, South Africa · CC BY 2.0 · source ↗
Black Heron
Swartreier · Egretta ardesiaca
A slate-black egret with bright yellow feet, famous for its 'canopy feeding'. It hunches and pulls its wings forward into a parasol shape over the water, creating shade that both cuts the glare and tempts fish into the dark patch where it strikes. A truly unusual sight at any pan.
Log your Black Heron sighting — free →How to identify it
An all-black egret with yellow feet that makes an umbrella over the water with its wings, a behaviour no other heron does.
Where to see it in Kruger
Feeds in shallow open water at pans, floodplains and dam edges, mostly in the south.
Did you know
It curls its wings into a shady umbrella so fish swim into the cool patch, then it grabs them.
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