NATURAL HISTORY · CATALOGUE RECORD
White-necked Heron
Ardea pacifica Latham, 1801
Source-backed taxonomic record
Accepted species in Catalogue of Life’s 11 September 2026 base release. This preserves the source classification and available supporting data; it is not a completed species monograph.
Open encyclopedia reference
The white-necked heron or Pacific heron (Ardea pacifica) is a species of heron that is found on most of the Australian continent wherever freshwater habitats exist. It is also found in parts of Indonesia and New Guinea, but is uncommon in Tasmania. The populations of this species in Australia are known to be nomadic like most water birds in Australia, moving from one water source to another, often entering habitats they have not previously occupied, taking advantage of flooding and heavy rain where the surplus of food allows them to breed and raise their young. Irruptive movements may occur when environmental conditions are right in places where the species has been rare or absent.
Wikipedia contributors, White-necked heron; see linked history · CC BY-SA 4.0 . Plain-text lead excerpt, at most 180 words; no infobox or later sections Retrieved 2026-10-05T07:16:03.852044+00:00. This reference remains separate from the taxonomic record.
Identity & source status
- Scientific name
- Ardea pacifica Latham, 1801
- Name authority
- Latham, 1801
- Common name
- White-necked Heron
- Rank
- species
- Accepted status
- accepted
- Kingdom
- Animalia
- Phylum
- Chordata
- Class
- Aves
- Order
- Pelecaniformes
- Family
- Ardeidae
- Genus
- Ardea
- Extinction status
- Recorded extant
Classification family tree
Nested taxonomic groups from the source. This is not a direct-ancestor chain, a dated evolutionary tree or a phylogenetic reconstruction.
- domainEukaryota (Chatton, 1925) Whittaker & Margulis, 1978
- kingdomAnimalia
- phylumChordata
- subphylumVertebrata
- infraphylumGnathostomata
- parvphylumOsteichthyes
- megaclassTetrapoda
- classAves
- orderPelecaniformes
- familyArdeidae Leach, 1820
- genusArdea Linnaeus, 1758
- speciesArdea pacifica Latham, 1801
Close classified relatives
These entries share the source’s genus, Ardea. They are not necessarily the closest relatives established by molecular evidence.
| Species | Classification | Source status |
|---|---|---|
| Yellow-billed EgretArdea brachyrhyncha (A. E. Brehm, 1854) | ArdeidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Western Cattle EgretArdea ibis Linnaeus, 1758 | ArdeidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Medium EgretArdea intermedia Wagler, 1829 | ArdeidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Great EgretArdea alba Linnaeus, 1758 | ArdeidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Great Blue HeronArdea herodias Linnaeus, 1758 | ArdeidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Humblot's HeronArdea humbloti Milne-Edwards & A. Grandidier, 1885 | ArdeidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Black-headed HeronArdea melanocephala Children & Vigors, 1826 | ArdeidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Purple HeronArdea purpurea Linnaeus, 1766 | ArdeidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Great-billed HeronArdea sumatrana Raffles, 1822 | ArdeidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Goliath HeronArdea goliath Cretzschmar, 1829 | ArdeidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
Documented distribution
Source distribution statements, not a complete range map. A listed locality is not necessarily a place of origin.
Source literature & publication evidence
References attached to this source record, including nomenclatural citations where supplied. This is a selected bibliography; abbreviated citations remain in the source’s form.
- https://www.itis.gov/servlet/SingleRpt/SingleRpt?search_topic=TSN&search_value=174789 Source fields: Taxon.tsv dwc:namePublishedIn, Taxon.tsv dcterms:references
Origins, evidence & remaining research
Name authority and publication references document nomenclature where the source supplies it. They do not establish evolutionary origins or the earliest fossil occurrence.
Specimen-level evidence, morphology, ecological research, phylogenetic studies, a comprehensive bibliography and a located literary passage have not yet been compiled for this record. A suitable sourced image remains to be added.
Dataset citation & attribution
This exact taxon in ChecklistBank · Catalogue of Life 2026-09-11
Catalogue of Life 2026-09-11; dataset 316321; doi:10.48580/dgz5n. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ . Retrieved 5 October 2026.
Stable key: col:GCJ6. Classification follows source parent identifiers. English common names may vary by region.