Steady

The great blue heron (Ardea herodias) is a large wading bird in the heron family Ardeidae, common near the shores of open water and in wetlands over... more

by Calazone's Flics

Title

Steady

Artist

Calazone's Flics

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Photograph

Description

The great blue heron (Ardea herodias) is a large wading bird in the heron family Ardeidae, common near the shores of open water and in wetlands over most of North America and Central America as well as the Caribbean and the Gal�gos Islands. It is a rare vagrant to Europe, with records from Spain, the Azores, England and the Netherlands

It is the largest North American heron and, among all extant herons, it is surpassed only by the Goliath heron (Ardea goliath) and the white-bellied heron (Ardea insignis). It has head-to-tail length of 91�137 cm (36�54 in), a wingspan of 167�201 cm (66�79 in), a height of 115�138 cm (45�54 in), and a weight of 2.1�3.6 kg (4.6�7.9 lb).[4][5][6] In British Columbia, adult males averaged 2.48 kg (5.5 lb) and adult females 2.11 kg (4.7 lb).[7] In Nova Scotia and New England, adult herons of both sexes averaged 2.23 kg (4.9 lb),[8] while in Oregon both sexes averaged 2.09 kg (4.6 lb)[9] Thus, great blue herons are roughly twice as heavy as great egrets (Ardea alba), although only slightly taller than them, but can themselves weigh about half as much as a large Goliath heron.[10] Notable features of great blue herons include slaty flight feathers, red-brown thighs, and a paired red-brown and black stripe up the flanks; the neck is rusty-gray, with black and white streaking down the front; the head is paler, with a nearly white face, and a pair of black plumes running from just above the eye to the back of the head. The feathers on the lower neck are long and plume-like; it also has plumes on the lower back at the start of the breeding season. The bill is dull yellowish, becoming orange briefly at the start of the breeding season, and the lower legs gray, also becoming orangey at the start of the breeding season. Immature birds are duller in color, with a dull blackish-gray crown, and the flank pattern only weakly defined; they have no plumes, and the bill is dull gray-yellow.[3][11][12] Among standard measurements, the wing chord is 43�49.2 cm (16.9�19.4 in), the tail is 15.2�19.5 cm (6.0�7.7 in), the culmen is 12.3�15.2 cm (4.8�6.0 in) and the tarsus is 15.7�21 cm (6.2�8.3 in).[13][14]

The heron stride is around 22 cm (8.7 in), almost in a straight line. Two of the three front toes are generally closer together. In a track the front toes as well as the back often show the small talons.

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September 11th, 2014