Green Heron

Butorides virescens

Order CICONIIFORMES - Family ARDEIDAE

Menu

1. Cool Facts
2. Description
3. Similar Species
4. Sound
5. Range
6. Habitat
7. Food
8. Behavior
9. Reproduction
10. Conservation Status
11. Other Names

A small, stocky wading bird, the Green Heron is common in wet spots across much of North America. It can be difficult to see as it stands motionless waiting for small fish to approach within striking range, but it frequently announces its presence by its loud squawking.

Cool Facts

• The Green Heron is one of the few tool-using birds. It commonly drops bait onto the surface of the water and grabs the small fish that are attracted. It uses a variety of baits and lures, including crusts of bread, insects, earthworms, twigs, or feathers.

• The Green Heron is part of a complex of small herons that sometimes are considered one species. When lumped, they are called Green-backed Heron. When split, they are the Green Heron, the widespread Striated Heron, and the Galapagos Heron.

• As is typical for many herons, the Green Heron tends to wander after the breeding season is over. Most wanderers probably seek more favorable foraging areas and do not travel far. But,occasionally some go farther, with individuals going as far as England and France.

Description

• Size: 41-46 cm (16-18 in)
• Wingspan: 64-68 cm (25-27 in)
• Weight: 240 g (8.47 ounces)

• Small, dark heron.
• Long yellowish legs.
• Long, dark, pointed bill.
• Long neck often kept pulled in tight to body.
• Legs and neck long, but shorter than most herons.

Greenish black cap on head. Wings blackish with greenish or bluish gloss. Neck rufous. Underparts gray. Wing feathers edged in buff. Legs yellow or yellowish orange; glossy orange during breeding. Slight crest can be raised on back of head. Eyes orange or yellow.

Sex Differences

Sexes similar, but female slightly smaller, duller, and lighter.

Immature

Striped brownish on neck and chest. Back brownish with buffy spots.

Similar Species

• In flight resembles a crow, but the wing beats are slower, the bunched neck gives it a slightly different shape, and it is reddish on the neck.
• American Bittern is larger, more robust, more golden brown and lighter, and lacks the dark cap.
• Least Bittern is smaller, slimmer, has a large pale patch in the wing, and is pale below.
• Juvenile night-herons are larger and more robust with thicker bills.

Sound

Flight or alarm call an explosive "skeow." Also make series of "kuk-kuk-kuk-kuk" notes.

»listen to songs of this species

Range

Summer Range

Breeds from southern Canada through Central America, avoiding the higher and drier areas of the continent.

Winter Range

Winters from the southern United States southward.

Habitat

• Breeds in swampy thickets. Forages in swamps, along creeks and streams, in marshes, ponds, lake edges, salt marshes, ponds and pastures.
• Winters mostly in coastal areas, especially mangrove swamps.

Food

Small fish, invertebrates, insects, frogs, and other small animals.

Behavior

Foraging

Stands still next to water and grabs small fish with explosive dart of head and neck. One of the few birds that uses bait to attract fish, it drops such things as bread crusts, insects, and twigs onto the water.

Reproduction

Nest Type

Nest a basket of sticks, placed in small tree or shrub, usually over water. Nests in small, loose colonies.

Egg Description

Pale green.

Clutch Size

2-6 eggs.

Condition at Hatching

Helpless, but eyes open and covered in grayish down.

Conservation Status

Common and widespread. Populations difficult to census accurately, but appear stable.

Other Names

Heron vert (French)
Garcita verde (Spanish)
Green-backed Heron (English)

Sources used to construct this page:

Davis, W. E., Jr., and J. A. Kushlan. 1994. Green Heron (Butorides virescens). In The Birds of North America, No. 129 (A. Poole, and F. Gill, eds.). The Academy of Natural Sciences, Philadelphia, PA, and The American Ornithologists' Union, Washington, D.C.