Great Blue Heron (Ardea herodias)

Family
Ardeidae (Herons)

Size
91 - 137 cm

First Described (Guide)
Linnaeus, 1758

Habitat
Fresh and saltwater marshes, mangrove swamps, flooded meadows, lake edges, shorelines. Always close to water.

Range (Guide)

Anguilla, Antigua and Barbuda, Aruba, Bahamas, Barbados, Belize, Bermuda (B), Canada (B) (NB) (P), Cayman Islands, Colombia, Costa Rica, Cuba, Dominica, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, Grenada, Guadeloupe, Guatemala, Haiti, Honduras, Jamaica (NB), Martinique, Mexico, Montserrat, Netherlands Antilles, Nicaragua, Panama, Puerto Rico, St Kitts and Nevis, St Lucia, St Pierre and Miquelon (P), St Vincent and The Grenadines, Trinidad and Tobago, Turks and Caicos Islands, USA (B), Venezuela, Virgin Islands (British) (NB), Virgin Islands (U.S.) (NB).

Vagrant to Brazil (NB), Cape Verde, France, Greenland, Portugal, Spain.

Rarity Status
Currently this species is not classified as a rarity in this country OR information has not been updated.

Population
Estimated population is 6,500 (2010).

Status LC
For more information see BirdLife International Species Factsheet.

Habits
Usually solitary except during the breeding season.

Food
Mainly small fish but also shrimps, crabs, aquatic insects, rodents and other small mammals, amphibians, reptiles, small birds.

Voice
A harsh croak. Especially vocal during breeding season.

Xeno-Canto Sound Files (more (97)...)

Great Blue Heron (Ardea herodias) [XC657211]
by Richard E. Webster from Smith Bybee Wetlands, North Portland, Multnomah County, Oregon, United States (call)

Great Blue Heron (Ardea herodias) [XC452182]
by Paul Marvin from Pe\u00f1a Blanca Lake, Arizona, United States (flight call)

Nest
A large bulky structure of sticks, in a tree, close to water. In colonies. Often with other heron species.

Eggs (Guide)
3 - 6; pale blue. Incubation: about 28 days.

Young
Fed by both parents, by regurgitation.

Subspecies
Forms superspecies with Grey Heron (Ardea cinerea) and Cocoi Heron (Ardea cocoi).

The following 5 subspecies are recognised:

herodias Linnaeus, 1758 - Most of North America.
fannini Chapman, 1901 - Pacific Northwest from southern Alaska south to Washington.
wardi Ridgway, 1882 - Kansas and Oklahoma to northern Florida.
occidentalis Audubon, 1835 - Southern Florida, Caribbean islands (formerly Great White Heron).
cognata Bangs, 1903 - Gal�pagos Islands.

Similar Species
Grey Heron (Ardea cinerea) which is smaller, with a pale grey neck and lacks, Reddish Egret (Egretta rufescens) and Little Blue Heron (Egretta caerulea), both of which are smaller, lack any white on the head, and lack yellow on the bill.

References
See References.

Files:

JPG files for Great Blue Heron (Ardea herodias) - 10 files

More Information

BirdLife International

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BirdLife International Species Factsheet.

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