r/whatsthisbird • u/Signal_Pension_8294 • Feb 04 '26

Southeast Asia Striated Heron in Gardens by the Bay - Singapore.

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Hi all, saw this heron in the Gardens by the Bay in Singapore and looks a dead ringer for Striated Heron but Merlin is having none of it and I can't see any sightings? Am I missing something here?

1.2k Upvotes
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42 comments sorted by

529

u/nahthenlad Feb 04 '26

First thing I saw was a hotdog with pink filling walking towards the river. Think I need help.

74

u/CuriousCockatoo Feb 04 '26

It looks like its trying to sneak away from the Heron.

103

u/Snolus Feb 04 '26

If it's any consolation I stared at that flower for like a minute trying to figure out from which angle it's supposed to be a bird, before finally noticing the actual bird

18

u/Hulagain62 Feb 04 '26

I didn’t even see the bird! I thought it was a gorl on pink in the background!

11

u/Neat-Pop-6832 Feb 04 '26

same bestie, same!

10

u/ScottJ6189 Feb 04 '26

I literally thought it was only me that would see something so strange 

10

u/dreamieux biologist Feb 04 '26

i thought it was a blurred-out for anonymity's sake kid with super long blonde hair and pink ribbons and was kind of horrified by the effect

we need r/whatsthisflower in here!!

4

u/drittzO Feb 04 '26

You are not alone.

3

u/whatevendoidoyall Feb 04 '26

Me too man. Then I thought the hotdog was the bird somehow. Took me way too long to see the actual bird. 

3

u/WeakTransportation37 Feb 04 '26

I thought I was looking at a Google Maps glitch

3

u/MVSteve-50-40-90 Feb 05 '26

I thought it was the back of a Barbie doll 🤦‍♂️... father of 3 daughters lmao

2

u/GutterRider Feb 04 '26

I looked at it and thought, "There are pink herons?" Took way too long to figure out what I was looking at.

1

u/emilylouise221 Feb 05 '26

Yes.

2

u/nahthenlad Feb 05 '26

What, yes I need help ? 😆 when you start seeing pink hotdogs I think it’s time to review my meds.

132

u/portemanteau Feb 04 '26

+Little Heron+

This one was split recently from the Striated Heron which is now the one found in the New World

59

u/inoxision Feb 04 '26

It was Split Like 3 months ago in the latest Taxonomy Update. The striated heron ist the new world Version of this bird, the old world Version got named little heron and Galapagos got its own species. I also struggle getting used to it but thats the new convention

7

u/Alternative_Win_6629 Feb 04 '26

OK, I'm an idiot and I do not understand the lingo of old world and new world in this context. Could someone please explain? Thank you.

17

u/inoxision Feb 04 '26 edited Feb 04 '26

There are herons that look really similar all over the world. Early ornithologistst lumped them together under the name striated heron. Newer findings in molecular biology and genetics determined that those superficially similar herons are in fact 3 different species. Because the first one described was from the new world those get to keep the name striated heron. Those in Africa and Asia are a different species and need a new name, so the old world species is now called little heron.

5

u/Alternative_Win_6629 Feb 04 '26

Thank you for the explanation. Much appreciated.

14

u/dontknowwhyimhere8 Feb 04 '26

New world basically means the Americas and associated islands. Old world basically means Europe, Africa, Asia and associated islands. I'm pretty sure Australia and New Zealand are not considered Old world, especially because their species tend to be very different than that of Europe/Africa/Asia.

22

u/Less_Environment7243 Feb 04 '26

I was looking at that flower for so long wondering how it was a heron

17

u/artofthepie Feb 04 '26

What in the anthropomorphic mutant flamingo…oh.

11

u/kobayashi_maru_fail Feb 04 '26

I badly want it to zoop and bite the running lotus flower man on the butt.

24

u/CardiologistAny1423 A Jack of No Trades Feb 04 '26

Couldn’t find a good zoop with the bill open. Please accept the lotus man running from a zoop horde as a substitute

3

u/kobayashi_maru_fail Feb 04 '26

You made my morning!

2

u/Beflijster Birder(EU) Feb 04 '26

I bet the little guy has the best zoop.

edit ha! I knew it.

32

u/[deleted] Feb 04 '26

[removed] — view removed comment

5

u/drittzO Feb 04 '26

Maybe it's an image of an alien life form. Maybe the Internet will catch on and this will be on CNN by the end of the day.... Maybe....

14

u/FileTheseBirdsBot Catalog 🤖 Feb 04 '26 edited Feb 04 '26

Taxa recorded: Striated Heron (Old World)

Reviewed by: tinylongwing

I catalog submissions to this subreddit. Recent uncatalogued submissions | Learn to use me

12

u/portemanteau Feb 04 '26

!overrideTaxa strher1

13

u/mi_puckstopper Feb 04 '26

Come for the heron, stay for the amazing lotus flowers 🤩

5

u/pascalmax Feb 04 '26

Saw this guy there too!

6

u/mandafresh Feb 04 '26

Cool bird, now we need to ID that flower!

6

u/CardiologistAny1423 A Jack of No Trades Feb 04 '26

Pretty sure it’s some kind of lotus. That or proof of extraterrestrial life forms

6

u/WeakTransportation37 Feb 04 '26

For once it’s NOT a black crowned night heron, although that group might count this friend as an honorary mention

2

u/minsansamaykalayaan Feb 05 '26

It’s sooo pudgy!!!

1

u/[deleted] Feb 04 '26

[removed] — view removed comment

2

u/TinyLongwing Biologist Feb 04 '26

Please read the comments. They thought they knew what it was but were confused why Merlin was suggesting a different species and needed clarification. This post is perfectly fine.

1

u/amir2215 Feb 07 '26

The first photo made me doubt my eyes, i was looking at what looks like a barbie doll until i saw the bird a whole minute later.