Blue heron

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Blue heron Ardea herodias

The blue heron belongs to the Ardeidae family 

This is the largest of the herons which occupy America, by standing four feet tall and wing span on six feet. They have black and white plumage on their heads and around the eyes. 

 They have a  blue/grey plume on the back and chest. The upper wing is paler then the fore-wing.

Their bills are a outstanding yellow. Whilst flying the heron tucks it head in like an S shape with slow wing beats. 

The heron fishes around the clock, they are a sit and wait predator, they stand still and wait for food (fish and frogs) to swim past them, they use their long necks and bill to pierce the prey They don't only eat aquatic animals they also like to eat a range of reptiles, invertebrates and small mammals.

The herons tend to congregate in rivers,marsh and salt and fresh water environments.  

The females lays the eggs (three to seven) in a nest constructed from twigs and leaves the nests are usually by a cliff edge, in a tree or in the reeds. The eggs take around four weeks to hatch, the females needs to take care of her chicks for around eight weeks before they are ready to flea the nest. They nest in groups, safety in numbers and return to the same place year in, year out. 

Allaboutbirds.org, (2015). Great Blue Heron. [online] Available at: http://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Great_Blue_Heron/id [Accessed 6 Apr. 2015].

Nhptv.org, (2015). Great Blue Heron - Ardea herodias - NatureWorks. [online] Available at: http://www.nhptv.org/natureworks/greatblueheron.htm [Accessed 6 Apr. 2015].