The Physiologus describes the heron as a contented bird which does not run hither and thither after game. Christians were advised to emulate its feeding habits rather than chasing after false doctrines to feed their hungry souls. During medieval times, herons were thought to fly above the clouds to avoid getting rained on. This supposed habit led them to become symbols of the righteous who avoided the storms of this world by placing their hopes and treasures in heaven. Herons are considered melancholy birds.
White ones symbolize innocence while ash-gray ones symbolize penance.
He endured there. Like many wading birds which eat snakes, frogs, and other symbols of the evil one, herons are images of the eternal struggle of good against evil and of Christ's battle against the Devil. The purple heron is associated with the phoenix and the Benu and lends their symbolic meanings of resurrection, regeneration, and renewal to the heron family. According to the Mosaic Law of the Israelites, herons were unclean birds. Their Hebrew name, anaphah, comes from a root which means to breath or huff as if in anger.