- Egretta caerulea
Identification
Height 51–76 cm (20-30 in)
Ws. 102 cm
Weight 325 g
Sexes similar
Breeding Adult
- Blue-grey body
- Purplish head and neck
- Long blue plumes
- Dark blue legs and feet
Non-breeding Adult
- Dark blue head and neck
- Paler legs
Immature
- All white except for dark wing tips and have
- Yellowish legs
Gradually acquire blue plumage as they mature.
Distribution
Found along east coast north to Massachusetts, along the Mississippi north to Missouri, and to about 15o miles north of the Gulf Coast. Regularly found 300 miles north of breeding range. Rare vagrant north of that.
Occurs throughout the West Indies and in Mexico breeds on both coasts and south to Panama. In South America ranges south to northern Chile in the west and Uruguay in the east.
Northern birds migrate south to winter in Florida, the West Indies and South America.
Taxonomy
This is a monotypic species[1].
Habitat
Swamps, flooded grasslands and lagoons, also coastal habitats in some areas.
Behaviour
Breeding
They nest in colonies, often with other herons, usually on platforms of sticks in trees or shrubs. The clutch consists of 3-7 light blue eggs.
Diet
Their diet consists of slow moving, bottom feeding shellfish, crustaceans and insects such as dragonflies.
References
- Clements, J. F., T. S. Schulenberg, M. J. Iliff, D. Roberson, T. A. Fredericks, B. L. Sullivan, and C. L. Wood. 2017. The eBird/Clements checklist of birds of the world: v2017, with updates to August 2017. Downloaded from http://www.birds.cornell.edu/clementschecklist/download/
- Handbook of the Birds of the World Alive (retrieved August 2016)
- Wikipedia
- BF Member observations
- Alvaro Jaramillo. 2003. Birds of Chile. Princeton Field Guides. ISBN 0-691-11740-3
Recommended Citation
- BirdForum Opus contributors. (2024) Little Blue Heron. In: BirdForum, the forum for wild birds and birding. Retrieved 23 April 2024 from https://www.birdforum.net/opus/Little_Blue_Heron
External Links
