The Great Blue Heron (Ardea herodias) is a wading bird of the heron family Ardeidae]], common all over the U.S. and Canada (except in deserts and high mountains, where there is no water for it to wade in) that stands in shallow water and spears fish or frogs with its long, sharp bill.
It will also raid goldfish ponds in back yards. The Great Blue stands four feet tall and has a seven-foot wingspan. The "Great White Heron," which was long thought to be a separate species, is an immature Great Blue -- their feathers do not turn the characteristic blue-gray until the bird is a few years old.
