page_title: List of birds of Pakistan
section_title: Herons, egrets, and bitterns
hierarchical_section_title: List of birds of Pakistan / Herons, egrets, and bitterns
caption_attribution_description: English: Yellow Bittern Ixobrychus sinensis in Kolkata, West Bengal, India.
context_page_description: This is a list of the bird species recorded in Pakistan. The avifauna of Pakistan include a total of 768 species, of which five are national symbols of Pakistan; the chukar pheasant is the national bird; the shaheen falcon is the symbolic icon of the Pakistan Air Force and the Pakistan Avicultural Foundation and the national bird of prey; the Asiatic peafowl is the national heritage bird; the cotton teal is the national aquatic bird of Pakistan; and the rose-ringed parakeet is the national pet.
  This list's taxonomic treatment and nomenclature generally follow the conventions of The Clements Checklist of Birds of the World, 2019 edition. The family accounts at the beginning of each heading reflect this taxonomy, as do the species counts found in each family account. Accidental species are included in the total species count for Pakistan.
  The following tags have been used to highlight several categories. The commonly occurring native species do not fall into any of these categories.
  Accidental - a species that rarely or accidentally occurs in Pakistan
  Extirpated - a species that no longer occurs in Pakistan but exists in other places
  National symbols of Pakistan include:
context_section_description: Order: Pelecaniformes   Family: Ardeidae
  The family Ardeidae contains the bitterns, herons and egrets. Herons and egrets are medium to large wading birds with long necks and legs. Bitterns tend to be shorter necked and more wary. Members of Ardeidae fly with their necks retracted, unlike other long-necked birds such as storks, ibises and spoonbills.
  Great bittern, Botaurus stellaris
  Yellow bittern, Ixobrychus sinensis
  Little bittern, Ixobrychus minutus
  Cinnamon bittern, Ixobrychus cinnamomeus
  Black bittern, Ixobrychus flavicollis
  Gray heron, Ardea cinerea
  Goliath heron, Ardea goliath (A)
  Purple heron, Ardea purpurea
  Great egret, Ardea alba
  Intermediate egret, Ardea intermedia
  Little egret, Egretta garzetta
  Western reef-heron, Egretta gularis
  Cattle egret, Bubulcus ibis
  Squacco heron, Ardeola ralloides (A)
  Indian pond-heron, Ardeola grayii
  Chinese pond-heron, Ardeola bacchus (A)
  Striated heron, Butorides striata
  Black-crowned night-heron, Nycticorax nycticorax
caption: Yellow bittern
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