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Tricolored Heron

Egretta tricolorOrder: CICONIIFORMESFamily: Bitterns, Herons and Egrets (Ardeidae)
Tricolored Heron Head Illustration

Head

  • Bill Shape: Dagger
  • Eye Color: Yellowish white in juveniles; Brown with pink inner margins in adults. Margins may turn scarlet or rose during courtship.
  • Head Pattern: Plain, Crested or plumed, Eyering (complete or broken)
  • Crown Color: Blue-gray
  • Forehead Color: Blue-gray
  • Nape Color: Blue-gray
  • Throat Color: White with red-brown streaks.
  • Cere color: No Data
Tricolored Heron Body Illustration

Body

  • Length Range: 61-66 cm (24-26 in)
  • Weight: 414 g (14.6 oz)
  • Size: Size 4. Large (16 - 32 in)
  • Color: White, Brown, Gray, Rufous or Rust
  • Underparts: White
  • Upperparts: Blue-gray
  • Back Pattern: Solid
  • Belly Pattern: Solid
  • Breast Pattern: Solid

Flight

  • Flight Pattern: Direct flight with steady quick wing beats.
  • Wingspan Range: 91 cm (36 in)
  • Wing Shape: Broad-Wings, Pointed-Wings
  • Tail Shape: Squared Tail
  • Tail Pattern: Solid
  • Upper Tail: Blue-gray
  • Under Tail: White
  • Leg Color: Yellow
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Family Herons and Egrets (Ardeidae)_blue
Species Egretta tricolor
Length24 - 26 Inches
Wingspan36 Inches

Tricolored Heron

Tricolored Heron: Medium heron, blue-gray upperparts, head, neck, wings, paler rump, white stripe on foreneck, white belly. Also has white plumes on back of head and rust-brown plumes on lower neck, back during the breeding season. Bill and legs are olive-brown. Direct flight on steady wing beats.

● Song: "aaah", "scaah"

● Foraging & Feeding: Tricolored Heron: Prey consists primarily of small fish, but includes crustaceans, reptiles, amphibians, insects, snails, and other invertebrates. Often stands or wades belly-deep in water; crouches with legs bent when stalking in shallows.

● Breeding & nesting: Tricolored Heron: Three or four light blue green eggs are laid on a platform nest made of stems and twigs, occasionally lined with grass; nests in mixed-species rookeries on coastal islands, although some may nest in swamp forests. Both parents incubate eggs for about 21 days.

● Similar species: Tricolored Heron: Little Blue Heron is stockier, lacks white underparts, and has browner neck and head.

Flight Pattern

Direct flight with steady quick wing beats.
Tricolored Heron Body Illustration
● Range & Habitat: Tricolored Heron: Breeds in southeastern New Mexico and Texas, on the Gulf Coast, and along the Atlantic coast north to southern Maine (rarely). Spends winters along the coast from Texas and New Jersey south to northern South America and West Indies. Preferred habitats include swamps, bayous, coastal ponds, salt marshes, mangrove islands, mudflats, and lagoons
BreedingMonogamous, Colonial
PopulationDeclining
MigrationSome migrate
Weight14.6 Ounces