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Tricolored Heron

Egretta tricolorOrder: CICONIIFORMES Family: Bitterns, Herons and Egrets (Ardeidae)
Codes: Common Name: TRHE Scientific Name: EGRTRI ITIS Taxonomic No.: 174826
Least Concern
 
Tricolored Heron
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Overview

Tricolored Heron: Medium heron, blue-gray upperparts, head, neck, wings, paler rump, white stripe on foreneck, white belly. Also has white plumes on back of head and rust-brown plumes on lower neck, back during the breeding season. Bill and legs are olive-brown. Direct flight on steady wing beats.

Range and Habitat

Tricolored Heron: Breeds in southeastern New Mexico and Texas, on the Gulf Coast, and along the Atlantic coast north to southern Maine (rarely). Spends winters along the coast from Texas and New Jersey south to northern South America and West Indies. Preferred habitats include swamps, bayous, coastal ponds, salt marshes, mangrove islands, mudflats, and lagoons

Topo Map: Long-legged-like Body


Listen to Call

Voice Text

"aaah", "scaah"

Interesting Facts

 The Tricolored Heron is the only dark colored heron with a white belly.

 One of the most abundant herons found in the Deep South, it was formerly called the Louisiana Heron.

 A group of herons has many collective nouns, including a "battery", "hedge", "pose", "rookery", and "scattering" of herons."


Bird Term Glossary



Author

Gary Owen Dick

Splitbar
Range Map for Tricolored Heron

Related Birds

Great Blue Heron
Green Heron
Little Blue Heron
Reddish Egret
Sandhill Crane
Whooping Crane
White-faced Ibis
Limpkin
.
Family Herons and Egrets (Ardeidae)_blue
Species Egretta tricolor
Length24 - 26 Inches
Wingspan36 Inches

Tricolored Heron

Tricolored Heron: Medium heron, blue-gray upperparts, head, neck, wings, paler rump, white stripe on foreneck, white belly. Also has white plumes on back of head and rust-brown plumes on lower neck, back during the breeding season. Bill and legs are olive-brown. Direct flight on steady wing beats.

● Song: "aaah", "scaah"

● Foraging & Feeding: Tricolored Heron: Prey consists primarily of small fish, but includes crustaceans, reptiles, amphibians, insects, snails, and other invertebrates. Often stands or wades belly-deep in water; crouches with legs bent when stalking in shallows.

● Breeding & nesting: Tricolored Heron: Three or four light blue green eggs are laid on a platform nest made of stems and twigs, occasionally lined with grass; nests in mixed-species rookeries on coastal islands, although some may nest in swamp forests. Both parents incubate eggs for about 21 days.

● Similar species: Tricolored Heron: Little Blue Heron is stockier, lacks white underparts, and has browner neck and head.

Flight Pattern

Direct flight with steady quick wing beats.
Tricolored Heron Body Illustration
● Range & Habitat: Tricolored Heron: Breeds in southeastern New Mexico and Texas, on the Gulf Coast, and along the Atlantic coast north to southern Maine (rarely). Spends winters along the coast from Texas and New Jersey south to northern South America and West Indies. Preferred habitats include swamps, bayous, coastal ponds, salt marshes, mangrove islands, mudflats, and lagoons
BreedingMonogamous, Colonial
PopulationDeclining
MigrationSome migrate
Weight14.6 Ounces
Long-legged-like BodyX
UpperpartsX
Back, rump, hindneck, wings, and crown.
BellyX
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.
ForeneckX
Also called the jugulum or throat patch, it is located on the front of the neck.
PlumesX
Large, conspicuous, showy feathers.
RumpX
The area between the uppertail coverts and the back of the bird.
4 and 6 letter alpha codesX

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.

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ITIS CodesX

The Integrated Taxonomic Information System (ITIS) was established in the mid-1990�s as a cooperative project among several federal agencies to improve and expand upon taxonomic data (known as the NODC Taxonomic Code) maintained by the National Oceanographic Data Center (NODC), National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).

To find the ITIS page for a bird species go to the ITIS web site advanced search and report page at http://www.itis.gov/advanced_search.html. You can enter the TSN or the common name of the bird. It will return the ITIS page for that bird. Another way to obtain the ITIS page is to use the Google search engine. Enter the string ITIS followed by the taxonomic ID, for example "ITIS 178041" will return the page for the Allen's Hummingbird.

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Parts of a Standing birdX
Head Feathers and MarkingsX
Parts of a Flying birdX