This species is found in suitable habitat throughout sub-Saharan Africa and Madagascar; in southern Africa it is most abundant in the Okavango Delta. There is no population estimate for southern Africa, but about 25,000 birds occur in Africa. It is peripheral in Namibia, occurring most commonly, albeit in small numbers, when flooding occurs in Etosha Pan, the Tsumkwe Pans, on the Okavango, Chobe and Zambezi floodplains and the Kunene River banks. A maximum of 76 birds were recorded in the Mahango area of the Bwabwata National Park during wetland counts; none of the other 14 sites where Black Herons were encountered achieved double figures.