Great Blue/Cocoi Heron vs Small Emerald Spreadwing

Ardea herodias compared with Lestes virens

Key Differences

• Great Blue/Cocoi Heron is Least Concern while Small Emerald Spreadwing is Near Threatened.

Taxonomic Classification

Rank	Great Blue/Cocoi Heron	Small Emerald Spreadwing
Kingdom same	Animalia (Animals)	Animalia (Animals)
Phylum	Chordata (Chordates)	Arthropoda (Arthropods)
Class	Aves (Birds)	Insecta (Insects)
Order	Pelecaniformes (Pelecaniformes)	Odonata (Odonata)
Family	Ardeidae	Lestidae
Genus	Ardea	Lestes
Species	Ardea herodias	Lestes virens

Evolutionary Relationship

Great Blue/Cocoi Heron and Small Emerald Spreadwing share a common ancestor at the Kingdom level: Animalia. (Animals)

Conservation Status

Great Blue/Cocoi Heron

LC — Least Concern

Small Emerald Spreadwing

NT — Near Threatened

Physical Characteristics

Attribute	Great Blue/Cocoi Heron	Small Emerald Spreadwing
Diet	—	—
Average Lifespan	—	—
Average Length	—	—
Average Weight	—	—

Habitat & Geographic Range

Great Blue/Cocoi Heron

Habitat

Typically found in various aerial, terrestrial, and aquatic environments.

Range

Widely distributed across Europe (5 countries), North America (United States), and South America (Colombia, Ecuador, Venezuela).

Small Emerald Spreadwing

Habitat

Typically found in virtually all terrestrial and freshwater habitats.

Range

Distributed across Belgium, Denmark, Luxembourg, and Sweden. Listed as Near Threatened, this species requires ongoing monitoring to prevent population decline.

Great Blue/Cocoi Heron

Great Blue/Cocoi Heron (Ardea herodias) is classified as Least Concern (LC) on the IUCN Red List. Widespread and abundant across its range, with stable populations and no immediate conservation concerns.

Shared Countries

Both species can be found in 1 countries:

🇧🇪 Belgium