héron cendré vs Montane Water Vole

Ardea cinerea compared with Arvicola scherman

Taxonomic Classification

Rank	héron cendré	Montane Water Vole
Kingdom same	Animalia (animal)	Animalia (animal)
Phylum same	Chordata (Chordates)	Chordata (Chordates)
Class	Aves (oiseau)	Mammalia (mammifères)
Order	Pelecaniformes (Pelecaniformes)	Rodentia (Rodents)
Family	Ardeidae	Cricetidae
Genus	Ardea	Arvicola
Species	Ardea cinerea	Arvicola scherman

Evolutionary Relationship

héron cendré and Montane Water Vole share a common ancestor at the Phylum level: Chordata. (Chordates)

Conservation Status

héron cendré

LC — Least Concern

Trend: Stable →

Montane Water Vole

LC — Least Concern

Physical Characteristics

Attribute	héron cendré	Montane Water Vole
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).

Montane Water Vole

Habitat

Typically found in diverse terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems.

Range

Found in Belgium.

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 1 countries:

🇧🇪 Belgium