Kauaʻi Conservation Atlas

Kauaʻi record · kba_bird_green_heron

Green Heron

Butorides virescens

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Green Heron — Adult left · juvenile right
Green Heron — Adult left · juvenile right · OpenAI image generation; Atlas deterministic typesetting · AI-generated artwork; no third-party photograph reproduced · Image source

About Green Heron

Green Heron (Butorides virescens) is recorded as a vagrant on Kauaʻi in the Bishop Museum's 2017 island checklist. This is a documented island occurrence, not a claim of an individual sighting in 2026.

Kauaʻi evidence

Bishop Museum island checklist (version 2, 2017) lists Kauaʻi status V: vagrant. See original island table. A Hawaiʻi-level record is available, but the species needs a documented Kauaʻi observation before local ecological conclusions are drawn.

Occurrence evidence

bishop_island_checklist_2017

Names and classification

Scientific name
Butorides virescens
Common names
Green Heron
Family
Ardeidae
Order
Pelecaniformes
Record type
Species

Kauaʻi occurrence and status

Kauaʻi occurrence
Kauaʻi documented: vagrant (2017 island checklist)
Origin
Indigenous visitor
Conservation status
Not assessed
Evidence date
2026-09-13
Evidence limits
Island occurrence supported by the 2017 checklist; abundance and current year presence are not established here

Habitat and ecology

Habitats
Marine Seabird
Food and resource needs
Food and resources may include marine prey such as fish, squid, crustaceans, areas schooling prey, carrion, or kleptoparasitic food pathways depending on the seabird role
Reproduction
Breeding on Kauaʻi is not established; seasonal resting and foraging habitat may be relevant.
Shelter
Shelter and structure within marine seabird.

Threats and conservation

Threats
Under-detection in vegetated margins and identification uncertainty
Conservation actions
Attach records to exact waterbody and vegetation state before analysis
Monitoring
Document date, place, observer, habitat, behavior, and supporting media for any Kauaʻi observation.
Data gaps
Update island status with dated contemporary records · Specific Kauaʻi habitat and abundance need local evidence

Process and seasonal context

Seasonal timing
Occasional Nonbreeding Visitor Watchlist
Seasonal description
Green Heron (Butorides virescens) is recorded as a vagrant on Kauaʻi in the Bishop Museum's 2017 island checklist. This is a documented island occurrence, not a claim of an individual sighting in 2026.

Sources and further reading

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