Dark Roller vs héron cendré

Ancylis upupana compared with Ardea cinerea

Key Differences

• Dark Roller is Near Threatened while héron cendré is Least Concern.

Taxonomic Classification

Rank	Dark Roller	héron cendré
Kingdom same	Animalia (animal)	Animalia (animal)
Phylum	Arthropoda (arthropodes)	Chordata (Chordates)
Class	Insecta (insecte)	Aves (oiseau)
Order	Lepidoptera (Butterflies & Moths)	Pelecaniformes (Pelecaniformes)
Family	Tortricidae	Ardeidae
Genus	Ancylis	Ardea
Species	Ancylis upupana	Ardea cinerea

Evolutionary Relationship

Dark Roller and héron cendré share a common ancestor at the Kingdom level: Animalia. (animal)

Conservation Status

Dark Roller

NT — Near Threatened

héron cendré

LC — Least Concern

Trend: Stable →

Physical Characteristics

Attribute	Dark Roller	héron cendré
Diet	—	Carnivore
Average Lifespan	—	15 years
Average Length	—	95 cm
Average Weight	—	1.5 kg

Habitat & Geographic Range

Dark Roller

Habitat

Typically found in virtually all terrestrial and freshwater habitats.

Range

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

héron cendré

Habitat

Typically found in diverse ecosystems where prey species are available.

Range

Found across Europe (6 countries).

héron cendré

A large, elegant wading bird reaching up to 1 meter in height, gray herons inhabit wetlands, rivers, lakes, and coastal areas across Europe, Asia, and Africa. Patient, solitary hunters, they stand motionless for long periods before striking fish, frogs, and small mammals with lightning-fast dagger bill strikes. They nest colonially in tall trees in rookeries called heronries, sometimes shared with other colonial waterbirds. Widely distributed and of Least Concern globally.

Shared Countries

Both species can be found in 4 countries:

🇧🇪 Belgium 🇩🇰 Denmark 🇳🇴 Norway 🇸🇪 Sweden