Grey heronGraureiher Ardea cinerea
Family: Herons, egrets, and bitterns
The common large heron of Europe, standing about a metre tall, grey above and white below with a black stripe above the eye that runs into a plume. Grey herons stand motionless at the water's edge waiting to spear fish, but also stalk mice across fields. They breed in tree-top colonies and can be seen all year in Germany, wherever there is shallow water.