Freckled Webcap vs héron cendré

Cortinarius spilomeus compared with Ardea cinerea

Key Differences

• Freckled Webcap is Endangered while héron cendré is Least Concern.

Taxonomic Classification

Rank	Freckled Webcap	héron cendré
Kingdom	Fungi (Fungi)	Animalia (animal)
Phylum	Basidiomycota (Club Fungi)	Chordata (Chordates)
Class	Agaricomycetes (Mushrooms)	Aves (oiseau)
Order	Agaricales (Gilled Mushrooms)	Pelecaniformes (Pelecaniformes)
Family	Cortinariaceae	Ardeidae
Genus	Cortinarius	Ardea
Species	Cortinarius spilomeus	Ardea cinerea

Conservation Status

Freckled Webcap

EN — Endangered

héron cendré

LC — Least Concern

Trend: Stable →

Physical Characteristics

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

Habitat & Geographic Range

Freckled Webcap

Habitat

Typically found in forest floors, decomposing wood, and soil ecosystems.

Range

Distributed across Denmark, Norway, and Sweden. Currently classified as Endangered on the IUCN Red List, this species faces significant conservation challenges across its range.

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 3 countries:

🇩🇰 Denmark 🇳🇴 Norway 🇸🇪 Sweden