Downy Emerald vs Серая цапля

Cordulia aenea compared with Ardea cinerea

Taxonomic Classification

Rank	Downy Emerald	Серая цапля
Kingdom same	Animalia (животные)	Animalia (животные)
Phylum	Arthropoda (членистоногие)	Chordata (хордовые)
Class	Insecta (насекомые)	Aves (птицы)
Order	Odonata (Стрекозы)	Pelecaniformes (пеликанообразные)
Family	Corduliidae	Ardeidae
Genus	Cordulia	Ardea
Species	Cordulia aenea	Ardea cinerea

Evolutionary Relationship

Downy Emerald and Серая цапля share a common ancestor at the Kingdom level: Animalia. (животные)

Conservation Status

Downy Emerald

LC — Least Concern

Серая цапля

LC — Least Concern

Trend: Stable →

Physical Characteristics

Attribute	Downy Emerald	Серая цапля
Diet	—	Carnivore
Average Lifespan	—	15 years
Average Length	—	95 cm
Average Weight	—	1.5 kg

Habitat & Geographic Range

Downy Emerald

Habitat

Typically found in virtually all terrestrial and freshwater habitats.

Range

Distributed across Belgium, Denmark, Luxembourg, Norway, and Sweden.

Серая цапля

Habitat

Typically found in diverse ecosystems where prey species are available.

Range

Found across Europe (6 countries).

Downy Emerald

Downy Emerald (Cordulia aenea) 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.

Серая цапля

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 5 countries:

🇧🇪 Belgium 🇩🇰 Denmark 🇱🇺 Luxembourg 🇳🇴 Norway 🇸🇪 Sweden