Great Blue Heron (Ardea herodias)
Bartholome' Island
Galapagos Islands
Off The Coast Of Ecuador
South America
.
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 Galápagos Islands. It is a rare vagrant to Europe.
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)
The great blue heron can adapt to almost any wetland habitat in its range. It may be found in numbers in fresh and saltwater marshes, mangrove swamps, flooded meadows, lake edges, or shorelines. It is quite adaptable and may be seen in heavily developed areas as long as they hold bodies of fish-bearing water.
The primary food for great blue heron is small fish, though it is also known to opportunistically feed on a wide range of shrimp, crabs, aquatic insects, rodents, and other small mammals, amphibians, reptiles, and birds. Primary prey is variable based on availability and abundance.
Adult herons, due to their size, have few natural predators, but a few of the larger avian predators have been known to kill both young and adults, including bald eagles (Haliaeetus leucocephalus) (the only predator known to attack great blue herons at every stage of their lifecycle from in the egg to adulthood), golden eagles and, less frequently, great horned owls and Harris's hawks. –
Wikipedia
Great Blue Heron (Ardea herodias)
Bartholome' Island
Galapagos Islands
Off The Coast Of Ecuador
South America
.
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 Galápagos Islands. It is a rare vagrant to Europe.
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)
The great blue heron can adapt to almost any wetland habitat in its range. It may be found in numbers in fresh and saltwater marshes, mangrove swamps, flooded meadows, lake edges, or shorelines. It is quite adaptable and may be seen in heavily developed areas as long as they hold bodies of fish-bearing water.
The primary food for great blue heron is small fish, though it is also known to opportunistically feed on a wide range of shrimp, crabs, aquatic insects, rodents, and other small mammals, amphibians, reptiles, and birds. Primary prey is variable based on availability and abundance.
Adult herons, due to their size, have few natural predators, but a few of the larger avian predators have been known to kill both young and adults, including bald eagles (Haliaeetus leucocephalus) (the only predator known to attack great blue herons at every stage of their lifecycle from in the egg to adulthood), golden eagles and, less frequently, great horned owls and Harris's hawks. –
Wikipedia