Emerald Spreadwing vs Серая цапля

Lestes dryas compared with Ardea cinerea

Key Differences

• Emerald Spreadwing is Vulnerable while Серая цапля is Least Concern.

Taxonomic Classification

Rank	Emerald Spreadwing	Серая цапля
Kingdom same	Animalia (животные)	Animalia (животные)
Phylum	Arthropoda (членистоногие)	Chordata (хордовые)
Class	Insecta (насекомые)	Aves (птицы)
Order	Odonata (Стрекозы)	Pelecaniformes (пеликанообразные)
Family	Lestidae	Ardeidae
Genus	Lestes	Ardea
Species	Lestes dryas	Ardea cinerea

Evolutionary Relationship

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

Conservation Status

Emerald Spreadwing

VU — Vulnerable

Серая цапля

LC — Least Concern

Trend: Stable →

Physical Characteristics

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

Habitat & Geographic Range

Emerald Spreadwing

Habitat

Typically found in virtually all terrestrial and freshwater habitats.

Range

Found across Europe (5 countries) and North America (United States). Currently classified as Vulnerable on the IUCN Red List, this species faces significant conservation challenges across its range.

Серая цапля

Habitat

Typically found in diverse ecosystems where prey species are available.

Range

Found across Europe (6 countries).

Emerald Spreadwing

Emerald Spreadwing (Lestes dryas) is classified as Vulnerable (VU) on the IUCN Red List. Facing a high risk of endangerment in the wild, with declining populations and increasing habitat pressure.

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