heron

IPA/ˈherən/
KK[hˈɛrən]IPA/ˈherən/

heron — noun

  • heronsingular
  • heronsplural

1. a tall bird with long thin legs and a long neck that stands in shallow water to

1.nounB2
Definition

a tall bird with long thin legs and a long neck that stands in shallow water to hunt fish, frogs, and other small water creatures

Example

Yuki spotted a grey heron standing perfectly still at the edge of the rice field.

collocation: grey heron

From the bridge, Amara could see a heron gliding low across the misty river.

Common collocations
  • grey heron
  • great blue heron
  • heron colony
  • heron stands motionless
  • heron wades through water
  • heron takes flight
Synonyms
  • egret

    a smaller, usually white heron with decorative plumes during breeding season

  • wader

    a broad category of long-legged birds that feed in shallow water; not specific to herons

Grammar Patterns

a heron

the heron

herons (plural)

Usage Note

Often confused with cranes. A heron pulls its neck back into an S-shape when flying; a crane flies with its neck stretched out straight. Egrets are smaller, typically white members of the same bird family.

Common Mistakes

I saw a heron flying with its long neck stretched out straight.
I saw a crane flying with its long neck stretched out straight.
Herons tuck their necks back in flight; cranes and storks keep theirs extended.

Word family

  • heronry
    nounC2

Synonym discussion

Sense: noun/1

Herons are often confused with cranes, egrets, and storks, but there are clear ways to tell them apart. The most reliable clue is how the bird flies: a heron pulls its neck back into a tight S-shape in flight, while cranes and storks fly with their necks fully stretched out ahead of them. Cranes also tend to be more social, gathering in large groups, whereas herons are usually solitary hunters standing alone at the water's edge. Egrets are not a separate kind of bird — they are members of the heron family, typically smaller and white, with ornamental plumes during breeding season. So if you see a tall white bird standing still in a pond, it could be an egret (a type of heron); a tall grey bird standing alone with a folded neck is almost certainly a heron; and a large group of birds with necks stretched out in a field is likely a flock of cranes.

crane ↗egretstork ↗

Common collocations

Nouns

Adverbs

Phrases

  • a heron in flight
  • the heron took off
  • a heron standing in the shallows

Prepositions

Etymology

GermanicOld FrenchMiddle EnglishEnglish

The word arrived in English during the 1300s from Old French 'hairon', which had earlier Germanic roots — probably linked to an imitative word for the bird's harsh, croaking call. Similar forms appear across older Germanic languages, including Old High German 'heigaro'. The spelling stabilised as 'heron' by the 1500s.