Tricolored heron
 | This article includes a list of general references, but it lacks sufficient corresponding inline citations. (November 2010) |
| Tricolored heron | |
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| Species: | E. tricolor
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| Egretta tricolor (Statius Muller, 1776)
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| Range of E. tricolor Breeding range Year-round range Wintering range
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The tricolored heron (Egretta tricolor), formerly known in North America as the Louisiana heron, is a small heron. It is a resident breeder from the Gulf states of the United States and northern Mexico south through Central America and the Caribbean to central Brazil and Peru. There is some post-breeding dispersal to well north of the nesting range.
Tricolored heron's breeding habitat is sub-tropical swamps. It nests in colonies, often with other herons, usually on platforms of sticks in trees or shrubs. In each clutch, 3–7 eggs are typically laid.
This species measures from 56 to 76 cm (22 to 30 in) long and has a wingspan of 96 cm (38 in).[2] The slightly larger male heron weighs 415 g (14.6 oz) on average, while the female averages 334 g (11.8 oz).[3] It is a medium-large, long-legged, long-necked heron with a long pointed yellowish or greyish bill with a black tip. The legs and feet are dark.
Adults have a blue-grey head, neck, back and upperwings, with a white line along the neck. The belly is white. In breeding plumage, they have long blue filamentous plumes on the head and neck, and buff ones on the back.
The tricolored heron stalks its prey in shallow or deeper water, often running as it does so. It eats fish, crustaceans, reptiles, and insects.
Gallery
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Juvenile -
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References
- Notes
- Sources
- Hilty, Steven L. (2003). Birds of Venezuela. Princeton University Press. ISBN 0-7136-6418-5.
- Field Guide to the Birds of North America. National Geographic. ISBN 0-7922-6877-6.
- Stiles, F. Gary; Skutch, Alexander F. (1989). A Guide to the Birds of Costa Rica. Comstock Publishing Associates. ISBN 0-8014-9600-4.
External links
- Tricolored Heron - Egretta tricolor - USGS Patuxent Bird Identification InfoCenter
- Tricolored heron photos at Field Guide: Birds of the World on Flickr
- Tricolored heron Bird Sound at Florida Museum of Natural History
- "Tricolored heron media". Internet Bird Collection.
- Tricolored heron photo gallery at VIREO (Drexel University)
- Tricolored Heron species account at Neotropical Birds (Cornell Lab of Ornithology)