héron cendré vs hérisson, hérisson occidental

Ardea cinerea compared with Erinaceus europaeus

Taxonomic Classification

Rank	héron cendré	hérisson, hérisson occidental
Kingdom same	Animalia (animal)	Animalia (animal)
Phylum same	Chordata (Chordates)	Chordata (Chordates)
Class	Aves (oiseau)	Mammalia (mammifères)
Order	Pelecaniformes (Pelecaniformes)	Erinaceomorpha (Erinaceomorpha)
Family	Ardeidae	Erinaceidae
Genus	Ardea	Erinaceus
Species	Ardea cinerea	Erinaceus europaeus

Evolutionary Relationship

héron cendré and hérisson, hérisson occidental share a common ancestor at the Phylum level: Chordata. (Chordates)

Conservation Status

héron cendré

LC — Least Concern

Trend: Stable →

hérisson, hérisson occidental

LC — Least Concern

Physical Characteristics

Attribute	héron cendré	hérisson, hérisson occidental
Diet	Carnivore	—
Average Lifespan	15 years	—
Average Length	95 cm	—
Average Weight	1.5 kg	—

Habitat & Geographic Range

héron cendré

Habitat

Typically found in diverse ecosystems where prey species are available.

Range

Found across Europe (6 countries).

hérisson, hérisson occidental

Habitat

Typically found in diverse terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems.

Range

Widely distributed across Asia (China, Japan), Europe (8 countries), and Oceania and the Pacific (New Zealand).

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.

hérisson, hérisson occidental

hedgehog (Erinaceus europaeus) 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 4 countries:

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