Great Blue/Cocoi Heron vs Small Whiteface

Ardea herodias compared with Leucorrhinia dubia

Key Differences

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

Taxonomic Classification

Rank	Great Blue/Cocoi Heron	Small Whiteface
Kingdom same	Animalia (Animals)	Animalia (Animals)
Phylum	Chordata (Chordates)	Arthropoda (Arthropods)
Class	Aves (Birds)	Insecta (Insects)
Order	Pelecaniformes (Pelecaniformes)	Odonata (Odonata)
Family	Ardeidae	Libellulidae
Genus	Ardea	Leucorrhinia
Species	Ardea herodias	Leucorrhinia dubia

Evolutionary Relationship

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

Conservation Status

Great Blue/Cocoi Heron

LC — Least Concern

Small Whiteface

NT — Near Threatened

Physical Characteristics

Attribute	Great Blue/Cocoi Heron	Small Whiteface
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 Whiteface

Habitat

Typically found in virtually all terrestrial and freshwater habitats.

Range

Distributed across Belgium, Denmark, Luxembourg, Norway, 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.

Small Whiteface

Small Whiteface (Leucorrhinia dubia) is classified as Near Threatened (NT) on the IUCN Red List. Close to qualifying as threatened, with populations that may become vulnerable without conservation action.

Shared Countries

Both species can be found in 2 countries:

🇧🇪 Belgium 🇳🇴 Norway