Alternate name: Louisiana Heron
Family: Ardeidae, Herons, Egrets, Bitterns view all from this family
Description 25-30" (64-76 cm). W. 3'2" (97 cm). A slender gray-blue heron with rufous neck and white belly.
Habitat Swamps, bayous, coastal ponds, salt marshes, mangrove islands, mudflats, and lagoons.
Nesting 3 or 4 blue-green eggs in a nest of sticks placed in a tree or reedbed, or on the ground.
Range Breeds in southeastern New Mexico and Texas, on Gulf Coast, and along Atlantic Coast north to southern Maine (rare). Winters along coast from Texas and New Jersey south to northern South America and West Indies. Also resident in tropical America.
Voice Guttural croaks and squawks.
Discussion Formerly called the "Louisiana Heron," this is one of the most abundant herons in the Deep South. Although in the West it nests only in southern New Mexico, it is liable to turn up in late summer as far away as Arizona, California, Oregon, Colorado, and even Manitoba. The Tricolored Heron is extremely slender and moves gracefully as it searches about for frogs or fish. Despite its relatively small size, it forages in deep water; often its legs are completely underwater, and the bird appears to be swimming.
