Great Blue Heron

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Great Blue Heron
Great blue heron (Ardea herodias) Lute of the great blue heron? / I

Great Blue Heron ( Ardea herodias ) Sounds of the Great Blue Heron ? / i
Audio file / audio sample

Systematics
Class : Birds (aves)
Order : Pelecaniformes
Family : Herons (Ardeidae)
Subfamily : Day heron (ardeinae)
Genre : Ardea
Type : Great Blue Heron
Scientific name
Ardea herodias
Linnaeus , 1758

The Great Blue Heron ( Ardea herodias ) is a bird art from the order Pelecaniformes . With a height of 102 to 127 centimeters, it is the largest heron in North America . In addition to North America, it is also native to Central America and the Galápagos Islands . In its appearance it largely corresponds to the gray heron widespread in Europe .

Great blue heron has captured a young snapping turtle
Distribution - yellow: only in summer; green: all year round; blue: only in winter, orange: transit areas

Great blue herons usually breed in colonies in trees bordering lakes and other wetlands. Other heron species are often found in these colonies. The brood is preceded by a courtship, which includes fluffing the ornamental plumage, shaking twigs and sightseeing. The large nest is built from twigs and is up to 40 meters high. The female lays three to five pale blue eggs. Both parents feed the young birds with choked up food.

Great blue herons prefer to hunt for fish, invertebrates, frogs and small mammals in the water by stalking their prey motionless or chasing it at a moderate pace. Similar to the European gray heron, the great blue heron also likes to hunt goldfish in garden ponds.

Birds that breed east of the Rocky Mountains in the northern range are migratory birds and overwinter in Central America and northern South America . The birds that breed in the southern area of ​​distribution are, however, resident birds.

gallery

literature

  • James A. Kushlan & James A. Hancock: Herons. Oxford University Press, 2005, ISBN 0-19-854981-4 .

Web links

Commons : Great Blue Heron ( Ardea herodias )  - Collection of images, videos and audio files