Green Heron
One of the smallest and more richly colored wading birds, Green Herons cut a striking figure as they stand poised above the waters of ponds and marshes, waiting to strike at prey. The species is especially notable for its remarkable feeding habits, which include the fabrication and use of bait to attract fish, as well as for the ongoing controversy surrounding its taxonomic status and relationships with similar species. Foraging Green Herons sometimes drop feathers, worms, insects, or other items into the water as bait to attract fish.

The breeding range of the Green Heron includes essentially all of the eastern half of the contiguous United States, the Pacific coast from Washington to California, and both coasts of Mexico and Central America, as well as the Bahamas, Cuba, Hispaniola, and Jamaica. Green Herons that breed in the eastern states and the Pacific Northwest migrate south in winter. Green Herons and Striated Herons (B. striatus, native to South America, Africa, Asia, and Australia) were formerly considered a single species, commonly known as the Green-backed Heron. Green Herons were recognized by the American Ornithologists’ Union as a distinct species in 1993, but taxonomic debate continues.
Green Heron Range Map

The Green Heron feeds opportunistically on a wide variety of aquatic creatures, including worms, insect larvae, mature insects, crustaceans, fish, frogs, snakes, and rodents. It forages in shallow water or on rocks or branches above water, standing still and watching the water, then darting its head and neck out to seize prey. Notably, Green Herons sometimes use bait to attract fish. They use both lures, such as feathers and leaves, and live bait, such as worms and insects. Green Herons have even been observed breaking sticks into small pieces to use as bait, one of the few examples of tool-making by birds. The flight call, also used as alarm call, is a sharp, descending "skeow".

Green Herons nest in marshes, swamps, ponds, or other areas close to aquatic feeding territories. Distance to nearest neighbors varies widely, probably depending on habitat; some Green Herons nest in relative isolation, and others in rather dense colonies. At one colony in San Blas, Mexico, 137 Green Heron nests have been found, generally less than 2 meters apart from each other, in the close company of several other nesting wading bird species. Nests are unlined structures made of sticks.

Clutches generally consist of three to five eggs. Both parents incubate eggs and brood and feed young. Newly hatched Green Herons have pink skin and fluffy grayish down. Parents attend their hatchlings closely for about ten days, at which time parents may leave young alone; when approached, the young birds assume “bittern posture,” frozen still with bills pointing up. Fledging occurs about 17 days after hatching. Fledglings are able to walk, climb, and swim; they become capable of flight at about three weeks of age.

Description: Green Herons are small herons, measuring about 14 inches in length. Adults have dark green backs (often appearing almost black) and dark, vaguely scaly wings. Necks are short and dark rufous. Belly and undertail are gray; legs are strikingly red-orange. Bill is long, sharp, slim, and straight.

Juveniles and first-summer birds are less brightly colored than adults, with dull necks and greenish-yellow legs. Necks are streaked brown and white.



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