Transcript:

Today on Animal Fact Files we’re talking about great blue herons. The great blue heron is sometimes mistakenly called a crane but there are distinct differences between the two: herons tend to have longer necks and beaks and will hold their necks in an ‘s’ shape while flying; cranes hold their necks out straight while flying. Great blue herons are also sometimes called egrets. Technically egrets are a type of heron, so it’s not completely incorrect, but usually this is in reference to a different species. The great egret looks a lot like the white color morph of great blue herons, but great egrets have darker legs and don’t have that fluffy chest plumage. We’ll talk about this more later on in the episode.

Great blue herons are the largest herons in North America. They can grow to be over four feet tall and have wingspans that average six feet. In weight, they can reach seven pounds! That tall, slender figure gives them access to deeper water giving these birds an advantage over other birds sharing their habitats. Great blue heron habitats include desert creeks to tropical bays. These birds are highly adaptable and can live just about anywhere there is water and food. They’re found mostly in North and Central America but they can be spotted in South America and parts of Europe. They usually live near slow moving or still water, typically staying within a 30 mile radius of this prime hunting location. Great blue herons eat fish, frogs, snakes, salamanders, insects, rodents and even other birds. Although typically observed flying gracefully overhead, perched in a tree, or wading casually through waterways, great blue herons can strike prey with a lightning fast strike.

Though solitary hunters, great blue herons breed in colonies called “heronries” ranging anywhere from five to many hundreds of mating pairs. Great blue herons breed in the spring; some individuals migrate to the perfect location while others live in the same area year round. A great blue heron male will choose the nest site but the female will build the nest. Typically she’ll build it in a tree between 20 and 60 feet off the ground, but some nests have been observed as high as 100 feet. Their young are born two to seven eggs per nest and the eggs take about 30 days to develop; both the parents incubate the eggs. The young herons fledge, or are able to fly, when they are around 60 days old and leave their nest within another 30 days. They usually live to be about fifteen years old in the wild though one individual was recorded to be over twenty-four years of age.

The great blue heron displays a shaggy, bluish-grey plumage around the base of its neck with a distinct dark stripe above its eyes that joins up with longer feathers behind its head. Their legs and beak are usually a soft orange or grey color and their wings have light undersides. One subspecies of great blue heron found on Florida and Caribbean salt water habitats sports white plumage making it easily mistaken for an egret. People sometimes refer to this morph as “the great white heron”.

For more facts on great blue herons check out the links in the description. Give a thumbs up if you learned something new today, and thank you for watching Animal Fact Files.