Green Heron

Butorides VirescensOrder: CICONIIFORMES Family: Bitterns, Herons and Egrets (Ardeidae)

Codes: Common Name: GRHE Scientific Name: BUTVIR ITIS Taxonomic No.: 174793

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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.

Green Heron

Green Heron: Small heron with gray-green upperparts. Head, neck, upper breast are chestnut-brown, belly is paler brown. Head has green-black cap with small crest. Throat is white and neck has white central stripe. Bill is two-toned with dark upper mandible and yellow lower mandible. Direct flight.

● Song: "qua qua"

● Foraging & Feeding: Green Heron: Diet consists of frogs, fish, snails, tadpoles, crayfish, crabs, crickets, dragonflies, water bugs, small snakes, and mice. Stands motionless with head cocked and neck extended waiting for prey; sometimes dives into the water to catch fish.

● Breeding & nesting: Green Heron: Two to seven pale green or blue green eggs are laid in a flat nest made of sticks and leaves, usually built in a tree near water 10 to 15 feet above the ground. Incubation ranges from 19 to 21 days and is carried out by both parents.

● Similar species: Green Heron: Little Blue Heron is larger and lacks brown head and neck.

Flight Pattern

Direct flight with slow steady arched wing beats.

● Range & Habitat: Green Heron: Breeds across most of the U.S.; spends winters in the southern U.S. south to Venezuela, Panama, and the West Indies. Preferred habitats include shoreline habitats along rivers, oceans, lakes, and ponds.

^BreedingMonogamous

^PopulationStable and common

^MigrationSome migrate

^Weight7.5 Ounces

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

Green Heron

Green Heron

Flight Pattern