Tricolor heron

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Tricolor heron
Adult Tricolored Heron.jpg

Three-colored heron ( Egretta tricolor )

Systematics
Class : Birds (aves)
Order : Pelecaniformes
Family : Herons (Ardeidae)
Subfamily : Day heron (ardeinae)
Genre : Egretta
Type : Tricolor heron
Scientific name
Egretta tricolor
( Statius Müller , 1776)

The Tricolored Heron ( Egretta tricolor ) is a bird art from the family of herons .

features

The three-colored heron is a dainty heron with a body length of about 60 cm. It can easily be confused with the blue heron , but it is smaller than the blue heron . Its plumage is mostly blue-gray or slate-gray in color, but the belly and underside of the neck are white, with the white in the upper part of the neck becoming pink.

Occurrence

It breeds in the coastal area of ​​the southern USA , in the Caribbean , almost all of Central America and in northern South America . The northern populations are considered to be migratory birds . Its preferred habitat are coasts , mangroves and coastal wetlands .

behavior

The three-colored heron breeds in small colonies. However, they are considered to be very territorial and defend their territory against intruders of all kinds. He builds his nest consisting of branches and twigs in tall trees. The female lays three to four bluish eggs there , which are incubated by both parents. The boys are also cared for together. In search of food he roams solitary in the shallow water and hunts for fish , amphibians , mollusks and crustaceans .

literature

  • National Geographic Society: Field Guide to Birds of North America. 3rd ed. Washington DC 1999, ISBN 0-7922-7451-2 .
  • David Sibley: The North American Bird Guide. Pica Press, London 2000, ISBN 1-873403-98-4 .

Web links

Commons : Three-Colored Heron ( Egretta tricolor )  - Collection of images, videos and audio files