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It is blue- gray overall, with black flight feathers, red- brown thighs, and a paired red- brown and black stripe up the flanks; the neck is rusty- gray, with black and white streaking down the front; the head is paler, with a nearly white face, and a pair of black plumes running from just above the eye to the back of the head. The feathers on the lower neck are long and plume- like; it also has plumes on the lower back at the start of the breeding season. The bill is dull yellowish, becoming orange briefly at the start of the breeding season, and the lower legs gray, also becoming orangey at the start of the breeding season. Immature birds are duller in color, with a dull blackish- gray crown, and the flank pattern only weakly defined; they have no plumes, and the bill is dull gray- yellow. Most of North America, except as below. The Pacific Northwest from southern Alaska south to Washington; coastal. Kansas and Oklahoma to northern Florida. Southern Florida, Caribbean islands. This was long thought to be a separate species, and is mainly found near salt water. Birds intermediate between the normal morph and the white morph are known as Wurdemann\'s Heron; in these only the head is white. The range extends south through Florida, Mexico and the Caribbean to South America. It is an extremely rare vagrant to Europe, with records from Spain, the Azores and England Great Blue Herons can be found in a range of habitats, in fresh and saltwater marshes, mangrove swamps, flooded meadows, lake edges, or shorelines, but they always live near bodies of water. Generally, they nest in trees or bushes near a body of water.
The best reserves for a family day out in the great outdoors. Grey heron - immature. UK passage is the number of individuals passing through on migration. The great blue heron, or \'blue crane\' as it is. The great blue heron also nests. Great Blue Heron (Ardea herodias). Pair bonds only last for the nesting season. The goal is to collect and document the migration patterns of great blue herons. The great blue heron appears in. Illinois Natural History Survey.It is generally a solitary feeder. Individuals usually forage while standing in water, but will also forage in fields or drop from the air, or a perch, into water. As large wading birds, Great Blue Herons are able to feed in deeper waters, and thus are able to exploit a niche not open to most other heron species. It feeds in shallow water or at the water\'s edge during both the night and the day, but especially around dawn and dusk. Herons locate their food by sight and generally swallow it whole. Herons have been known to choke on prey that is too large. It uses its long legs to wade through shallow water, and spears fish or frogs with its long, sharp bill. The size of these colonies may be large, ranging between 5–5. Great Blue Herons build a bulky stick nest, and the female lays three to six pale blue eggs. One brood is raised each year. If the nest is abandoned or destroyed, the female may lay a replacement clutch. Reproduction is negatively affected by human disturbance, particularly during the beginning of nesting. Repeated human intrusion into nesting areas often results in nest failure, with abandonment of eggs or chicks. Both parents feed the young at the nest by regurgitating food. Parent birds have been shown to consume up to four times as much food when they are feeding young chicks than when laying or incubating eggs. Eggs are incubated for approximately 2. The first chick to hatch usually becomes more experienced in food handling and aggressive interactions with siblings, and so often grows more quickly than the other chicks. From the southern United States southwards, and on the Pacific coast, they are year- round residents. However their hardiness is such that individuals often remain through cold northern winters, as well. It has been recorded as a vagrant in England. Greenland, Hawaii, and the Azores. It forms a superspecies with this and also with the Cocoi Heron from South America, which differs in having more extensive black on the head, and a white breast and neck. The . The Reddish Egret and Little Blue Heron could be mistaken for the Great Blue Heron, but are smaller, and lack white on the head and yellow in the bill.
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