Great blue heron

http://veniceaudubon.org/gallery/great-blue-heron      

Great blue heron Ardea herodias


The Great blue heron belongs to the Ardeidae family.



The heron has pale blue and grey feathers, with a white strips on the face by the eyes, they have a yellow, pointed bill and legs. The neck is a S shape with aid in hunting.


They hunt by standing in the water, waiting for the fish to come past, they use their powerful neck to lunge forward and stab the prey, they swallow it whole. They eat fish, amphibians, crustaceans, invertebrates and birds.


Whilst flying they hold their wings in a M shape and flap their wings slowly. They are found in wetlands, riverbanks, marshes and freshwater.


The breed in groups. The male finds the location to build the nest. The courtship is extending the neck, flying in patterns and ruffling the feathers. The nests are in the trees and constructed by the females. The females will lay around five eggs and incubation is thirty days and both female and male have this role, they also have to collect the food by regurgitation for the young. At sixty days they leave the nest.



















Allaboutbirds.org, (2015). Great Blue Heron. [online] Available at: http://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Great_Blue_Heron/lifehistory [Accessed 15 Apr. 2015].

Audubon, (2014). Great Blue Heron. [online] Available at: http://www.audubon.org/field-guide/bird/great-blue-heron [Accessed 15 Apr. 2015].