Little Blue Heron

Little Blue Heron (Egretta caerulea)

The Blue Heron ( Egretta caerulea) belongs to the family of herons of the order Ciconiiformes ( Ciconiiformes ).

Appearance

The birds are 60 inches long, with a wingspan of one meter and a weight of 325 grams. They are medium-sized heron with a long neck and a long, pointed, blue or gray bill with black tip. Adult birds have a blue - gray plumage. The legs and feet are dark blue. During breeding, the head and neck is colored purple. In addition, there are growing longer plumes, legs and feet are black. Young birds are white with yellow legs. With aging, they are increasingly blue.

Dissemination

The blue heron lives in swamps in the areas adjacent to the Gulf of Mexico States of the United States, in Central America, the islands of the Caribbean and South America to Peru and Uruguay. Individual animals wander far after the breeding season north to the Canadian border.

Way of life

The little blue heron feeds on fish, crustaceans and insects, where he lies in wait sitting in shallow water or on a branch on the shore.

It nests in colonies, often with other herons, on trees or shrubs. It will put 3-7 light blue eggs.