(Butorides virescens)
Length: 1 ft 4.8" to 1 ft 6.1"
Weight: 8.5 oz
Wingspan: 2 ft 1.2" to 2 ft 2.8"
Lifespan: The oldest Green Heron on record was at least 7 years, 11 months old when it was found in Mexico in 1979.
Diet consists of mainly small fish. Also eats insects, spiders, crustaceans, snails, amphibians, reptiles, and rodents. Hunts day or night among thick vegetation in water that is less than 4" deep (they tend to avoid the deeper and more open areas where longer-legged herons species forage).
Resident to medium-distance migrant. In late August through October, herons from eastern locations migrate to Florida, the Gulf Coast, and the Caribbean, while western herons migrate to Mexico. They typically migrate at night and in large flocks. Herons in the interior of North America may take either an eastern or a western route.
Unlike some bird species, global warming does not yet seem to have affected when the herons return north to their breeding ranges; they arrive at about the same time they did 100 years ago.
Nest built of
Clutch size: 2 to 6 pale green eggs. 1-2 broods per year. Eggs are laid in 2-day intervals, however the 2nd egg may be laid up to 6 days later than the first.
Incubation: 19 to 21 days. Both parents incubate eggs. Chicks hatch with eyes open and are covered with grayish brown down on top and white down beneath.
Fledging: Chicks leave nest at ~ 16 to 17 days. They are not fully able to fend for themselves until 30–35 days old.
Green Heron capturing tadpole prey on 5/31/2017.
References
- "Green Heron, Life History". All about birds, The Cornell Lab of Ornithology. Cornell Lab of Ornithology. Retrieved October, 2016.
- "Green Heron". Audubon Guide to North American Birds. Retrieved October, 2016.
- "Green Heron". Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Retrieved October, 2016.