Bird name:

Great Blue Heron

Ardea herodias

Order

CICONIIFORMES

Family

Bitterns, Herons and Egrets (Ardeidae)

Code 4

GBHE

Code 6

ARDHER

ITIS

174773

Breeding Location:

Lakes, Marshes, freshwater, Swamps, Rivers

Breeding Type:

Monogamous, Colonial

Breeding Population:

Widespread, Stable and common

Egg Color:

Pale blue or light blue green

Number of Eggs:

2 - 7

Incubation Days:

25 - 30

Egg Incubator:

Both sexes

Nest Material:

Sticks, lined with twigs and leaves.

Migration:

Migratory

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General

Great Blue Heron: Large, elegant heron with blue-gray back, black sides, and gray-and-white striped belly. Long neck is gray with black-bordered white throat stripe. Head has white face, cap, and black crest. Upper mandible is dark, while lower mandible is yellow. Sexes are similar. Juvenile is duller and without crest. White and intermediate phases occur in Florida. Easily recognized in flight by 6-foot wingspan and neck folded into shape of an S.

Range and Habitat

Great Blue Heron: Breeds locally from coastal Alaska, south-central Canada, and Nova Scotia south to Mexico and West Indies. Spends winters as far north as southern Alaska, central U.S., and southern New England. Preferred habitats include lakes, ponds, rivers, and marshes.

Breeding and Nesting

Great Blue Heron: Two to seven pale blue or blue green eggs are laid on a shallow platform of sticks lined with finer material, usually built in a tree but sometimes on the ground, or concealed in a reed bed; often nests in colonies. Incubation ranges from 25 to 30 days and is carried out by both adults.

Foraging and Feeding

Great Blue Heron: Diet consists of fish, frogs, salamanders, lizards, snakes, shrimps, crabs, crayfish, dragonflies, grasshoppers, and aquatic insects; forages while wading, often belly-deep, impaling prey with its sharp, spear-like bill; active night and day.

Vocalization

Great Blue Heron: Makes a soft "kraak" or "fraunk" when disturbed or in flight; greets other members of its species with "ar."

Similar Species

Great Blue Heron: Sandhill Crane is larger, has red cap, dark bill, and does not fold neck in flight. White phase is distinguished from other white egrets by its larger size and combination of yellow bill and yellow legs.

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Bird Call Credits: The Macaulay Library of Natural Sounds at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology. Martyn Stewart, http://www.naturesound.org, Redmond, Washington USA. The reuse or copying of bird calls in this database is strictly forbidden.

Belly

The ventral part of the bird, or the area between the flanks on each side and the crissum and breast. Flight muscles are located between the belly and the breast.

Cap

The area on top of the head of the bird.

Crest

Tufts of feathers on the head of the bird.

Face

The front part of the head consisting of the bill, eyes, cheeks and chin.

Lower mandible

The lower part of the bill.

Upper mandible

The upper part of the bill.

4 and 6 letter alpha codes

The four letter common name alpha code is is derived from the first two letters of the common first name and the first two letters of common last name. The six letter species name alpha code is derived from the first three letters of the scientific name (genus) and the first three letters of the scientific name (species). See (1) below for the rules used to create the codes..

Four-letter (for English common names) and six-letter (for scientific names) species alpha codes were developed by Pyle and DeSante (2003, North American Bird-Bander 28:64-79) to reflect A.O.U. taxonomy and nomenclature (A.O.U. 1998) as modified by Supplements 42 (Auk 117:847-858, 2000) and 43 (Auk 119:897-906, 2002). The list has been updated by Pyle and DeSante to reflect changes reported by the A.O.U from 2003 through 2006.

Field Guide to Birds of North America