The Squacco Heron is a small heron whose head and back feathers lengthen in breeding plumage. It waits for prey in shallow water.
In breeding plumage, pale feathers lengthen into a crown on the head and the back becomes tawny. Outside the breeding season, fine dark streaks mark the head.
The breeding population of Squacco Herons in Greece showed a moderate increase in nest records from 1988 to 2018. Researchers counted breeding pairs of seven colonial heron species at 65 colonies across 37 wetlands, comparing changes in nests and colony numbers for each species.
In 2018, nine Squacco Heron colonies were active, and 91.5% of the nests were concentrated at two sites: Lake Kerkini in the north and the Axios Delta in the west. The highest nest count in the study period was 804 in 2015, when breeding took place in seven colonies.
An extinction-risk assessment has not been added yet.
Squacco Heron breeding numbers in Greece showed a moderate increase from 1988 to 2018. Of nine colonies established after 2003, eight were inside protected areas and seven were in areas overseen by a protected-area authority. New or restored wetlands and colonies established after 2003 were associated with a more positive breeding trend. Yet at least seven of those nine new colonies were later abandoned, all within protected areas. The authors report that the Natura 2000 network and protected-area authorities positively affected the nesting trends or range expansion of several heron species. In 2018, nine colonies were active and 91.5% of nests were concentrated at two wetlands. Factors linked to population trends differed by species, even within colonies.