Boat-billed Heron
- Family
- Ardeidae
- Conservation status (IUCN)
- Least Concern 4
Where and when to see the Boat-billed Heron
DraftOn the Yucatán Peninsula
It lives in mangroves, estuaries and wooded swamps. By day it roosts in loose groups in dense branches over the water; after dark it comes out to feed along the shore.
Where it’s reported most
- CelestúnCelestún, Yucatán
- HolboxLázaro Cárdenas, Quintana Roo
- Ría LagartosRío Lagartos, Yucatán
- Punta EsmeraldaPlaya del Carmen, Quintana Roo
When
All year
Reported all year.
Reports relative to effort
- January: 75%
- February: 72%
- March: 64%
- April: 77%
- May: 93%
- June: 100%
- July: 76%
- August: 85%
- September: 93%
- October: 93%
- November: 73%
- December: 71%
Data: eBird and other datasets via GBIF.org (CC BY 4.0), 2015–2025 · Base map: Natural Earth
Roosts by day deep in dense mangroves and comes out at night to feed, its large eyes suited to the dark. The broad bill scoops up fish, shrimp and frogs at the water's edge.
- Identification
- A stocky night heron with an enormous, broad bill shaped like an upturned boat, big dark eyes and a black crown with a long crest. Adults are pale grey above with a rusty belly and black flanks; young birds are browner.
- Voice
- Mostly heard at night. At the nest it calls loudly and lunges at anything that comes too close.
What the photo doesn’t show
DraftA boat for a bill
Its very wide, flat bill looks like the upturned keel of a boat, which gives the bird its name. It uses it to scoop prey from the water as well as to lunge. 1,2
Dinner in the dark
It feeds in the dark. Birds leave their daytime roost about half an hour after sunset, and observers found they do not feed when there is light, whether daylight, moonlight or artificial light. 2,3
A fearless guard
Unlike most herons, it fights hard for its nest. It drives off other birds, calls loudly and may even lunge at people who come too close. 1
The odd one out
It is the only member of its genus and was once placed in a family of its own. Today it is back among the herons. 1,2
Sources
- Birds of the World (Cornell Lab): Boat-billed Heron (opens in a new tab)
- Wikipedia: Boat-billed heron (opens in a new tab)
- eBird: Boat-billed Heron (opens in a new tab)
- IUCN Red List category, via GBIF: Cochlearius cochlearius (opens in a new tab)
Map and months: 1,667 records from 2015–2025 from eBird, iNaturalist, and others, via GBIF.org (CC BY 4.0), in 0.1° squares (about 10 km). eBird: doi.org/10.15468/aomfnb.
Months: the species’ records ÷ all bird records that month, scaled to the busiest month. It allows for birding effort; it is not the chance of seeing it. A blank square: few or no reports, not necessarily absent.
Tell us where, or ask how to find one.
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