Birds of Florida
Herons and Egrets
Herons and egrets belong to the family Ardeidae. These are both long-legged, long-necked wading birds and are primarily distinguished by color and size. Egrets are actually a type of heron and with few exceptions are much smaller than herons, white in color and grow long delicate feathers or plumes during mating season, while herons are blue, grey or green with much thicker bills. Egrets are more active and agile hunters, often running to catch prey while herons tend to stand motionless and wait for prey to come with-in striking distance.
Sandhill Crane - Grus canadensis pratensis
Family - Gruidae
Image - A Sandhill Crane parent feeding its baby.
Sandhill babies are called "colts", a reference to their long legs.
Image - Sandhill Crane on a nest.
Sandhill Cranes often nest in flooded marshes, building a mound
above the water level from the surrounding vegetation.
Sandhill Cranes in Florida consist of two groups, there is a native, permanent resident population of cranes consisting of 4-5 thousand individuals that range from the Okefenokee Swamp in Georgia to the Florida Everglades. The second group - Greater Sandhill cranes (Grus canadensis tabida) migrate here from the northern U.S. and Canada for the winter, but nest in the Great Lakes region.
Sandhill cranes are large grey birds with a long neck and legs, white cheeks and a red patch of bald skin on the top of their head, adults are 3-4 feet tall, have a 6 1/2 foot wingspan, weigh between 7 to 11 pounds and can live well over 30 years, the oldest wild banded bird being just over 37 years old. (Source - allaboutbirds.org)
Natural habitat types are marshes, ponds, and wet prairies, they are also seen in pastures, on roadsides,golf courses and residential lawns. Sandhill cranes are omnivorous, with a varied diet consisting of seeds, tubers, insects, worms, grubs, snakes, frogs and even the occasional small mammal.
Sandhill cranes construct a nest from vegetation, moss, and grasses forming a mound, laying 1-3 eggs with both parents contributing to nest building and rearing the chicks. Able to leave the nest within 24 hours after hatching, the chicks stay with the parents for about 9-10 months, foraging with the parents and developing survival skills. Sandhill cranes have lost about 37% of suitable habitat in Florida due to wetland drainage and development.
Green Heron - Butorides virescens
Family - Ardeidae
Image - Green Heron perched motionless over the water
waiting for prey to come within easy reach.
Image - Green Heron feeding.
Adult Green Herons have a body length of 19 inches with a wingspan up to 26 inches, yellow legs, chestnut body, feathers on back are iridescent green but may appear darker when viewed from a distance, dark crown / crest on head. Also known as the Green-backed Heron, they are year-round residents in Florida.
Commonly seen around the edges of small bodies of water with dense vegetation where they hunt or stand motionless waiting for small fish to get close. Green herons will also perch on a low hanging tree branch over the water and repeatedly drop bits of twigs onto the waters surface, attracting small prey fish within easy catching distance. Diet consists mainly of small fish, crayfish, insects, invertebrates, and lizards.
The Green herons nest is basically a platform of sticks, it may be at ground level or more commonly in a shrub or tree up to 30 feet or more above the ground, two - six eggs are laid at intervals of 2 to 6 days. Life span is about eight years.
Great Blue Heron - Ardea herodias
Family - Ardeidae
Above images left to right -
(L) Great Blue heron (C) White morph (R) Great Blue Heron on the nest
Often referred to by its initials "GBH", this heron with a wingspan to 79 inches and body length up to 54 inches is the largest heron in North America. Body is blue grey, head has a black stripe over the eye with a large, thick yellow bill. Great Blue Herons appear somewhat shaggy having plumes on the head, wings and chest.
With a diet mainly of fish, also aquatic invertebrates, turtles, as well as waterfowl, snakes and small mammals, they are most often seen stalking prey in the shallows of fresh or saltwater rivers, lakes, marshes, and tidal flats often standing motionless for long periods patiently waiting for fish to swim close enough to strike, they do hunt in fields, along shorelines and occasionally backyard goldfish ponds. Having excellent night vision allows them to hunt day or night. The Great Blue Herons range includes most of the North American continent into Alaska with the exception of far northern parts Canada.
The Great White Heron, a sub-species color morph or variation of the Great Blue Heron is found in the coastal areas of South Florida, there are also individuals that have blue-grey bodies with a white head and neck, a result of interbreeding of the two color variations. These are named Würdemann’s Heron.
Similar in appearance to the White Egret, the Great White Heron is most easily distinguished from egrets as having light colored legs whereas the Great Egrets legs are black.
Great Blue Herons may occasionally nest on the ground, more often they build their stick nest in a tall tree and may also nest together as a rookery.
Little Blue Heron - Egretta caerulea
Family - Ardeidae
Image (above) - Mature Little Blue Heron
Image (above) - A juvenile Little Blue Heron with "pied" coloration
The Little Blue Heron has a body length of 27-30 inches with a wingspan of 40 inches.
Usually seen hunting in the shallow waters of inland waterways, lakes, ponds and marshes, catching fish, amphibians & crustaceans.
The Little Blue Heron will also hunt in grassy meadows for insects and amphibians.
Immature birds have all white plumage, then as the birds mature they take on a mottled or pied appearance, showing both blue and white coloration. Adults are blue and in breeding have reddish-buff colored necks and delicate plumes on their heads with a black tipped, blue bill.
Tricolored Heron - Egretta tricolor
Family - Ardeidae
The Tricolored Heron (formerly called the Louisiana Heron) is similar in appearance to the Little Blue Heron.
Tricolored Herons are slate grey with a white stripe running down the neck and white underside, as well as white plumes on the head during breeding season, neck may also be rust colored.
Measuring about 26 inches long, the Tricolored Heron has a wingspan of 36 inches and can be found in marshes, ponds and the shallow waters of rivers where they hunt fish, insects and other small prey.
Yellow-Crowned Night Heron - Nyctanassa violacea
Family - Ardeidae
Above left - Adult Yellow Crowned Night Heron, Right - Juvenile
Although it's name implies otherwise this bird is also quite active during daylight hours. The Yellow-Crowned Night-Heron has an average body length of 24 inches with a wingspan of 44 inches.
Adults are slate grey, have a black head, white crown and cheek stripe, reddish eyes and yellow legs. Breeding adults have a yellow fore-crown with white plumes from nape and orange legs.
Juveniles are grayish brown with amber eyes, white spotting and streaks above, gradually acquiring adult characteristics over a two year period.
The Yellow Crowned Night-Heron hunts crustaceans, insects, & invertebrates in Mangroves, fresh and salt water swamps and marshes, mainly near the coast.
Black-crowned Night-Heron - Nycticorax nycticorax
Family - Ardeidae
Above - Black Crowned Night Heron
Relatively short and stocky when compared to other Herons, the Black-crowned Night Heron is the most widespread of all Herons, populating all continents except Australia and Antarctica, they are year-round residents within Florida.
Adults are about 25 inches tall with grey wings, white to grey underside, black back and crown. Eyes are red and the legs are yellow-green, except during breeding season when they turn pink. As the name implies, this Heron feeds primarily from dusk to dawn, in doing so it avoids direct competition with other Herons in the same area, which feed during the day.
Roseate Spoonbill - Platalea ajaja
Family - Threskiornithidae
Juvenile Roseate Spoonbills have a white beak, an adults beak is grey. Adults have a bald head with a greenish tinge that turns a buffy golden hue during the breeding phase.
The Roseate Spoonbill with its pink color is sometimes mistaken for the Flamingo, as both birds have a diet which includes the small crustaceans that give their feathers the pink color.
The Spoonbill has a more "stocky" build with much shorter legs, another characteristic that sets them apart from the Flamingo is the difference in their bills, the Spoonbill has a much longer bill that ends with the "spoon" shape, the Flamingo has a short black bill that curves downward.
Spoonbills (much like the Flamingo) feed by sweeping their bill back and forth, probing the shallow waters of marshes, rivers and other bodies of water.
Touch sensitive receptors in their bills allow them to feel their prey in cloudy or muddy water, when something touches these receptors the bill snaps shut, this adaptation also allows them to feed in the darkness of night.
Snowy Egret - Egretta thula
Family - Ardeidae / Subfamily - Ardeinae
Snowy Egrets can be found in marshes, swamps, ponds, lakes, rivers and tidal flats.
Snowy Egrets were hunted almost to extinction in the late 1800's and early 1900's for their breeding plumes, which were used to decorate ladies hats. They rebounded quickly after being protected under the Migratory Bird Treaty Act of 1918.
The Snowy Egret has a 36 inch wingspan, stands about 2 feet tall and is of slender build, has snow white plumage with a black bill, black legs and yellow feet and lores.
During breeding season this Egret develops long, delicate plumes on their head, neck and back. The yellow parts get a reddish tint during courtship also. Snowy Egrets feed on shrimp, fish, crabs, crayfish, insects, snakes, small frogs.
Great Egret - Ardea alba
Family - Ardeidae / Subfamily - Ardeinae
The Great Egret is a large, all white, wading bird common in South Florida. Body length to 39 inches, with a 55 inch wingspan.
One of several white members of the Ardeidae (Heron) family present in Florida the Great Egret is distinguished from the white morph of the Great Blue Heron by having black legs and feet, the Snowy Egret has a black bill and yellow feet and the Reddish Egret, (white morph) which has a black tipped bill and smaller stature. Breeding individuals have long plumes on their backs.
Cattle Egret - Bubulcus ibis
Family - Ardeidae / Subfamily - Ardeinae
The Cattle Egret averages 17-21 inches in length with a wingspan just over three feet. Often observed feeding in open pastures & fields away from water. Follows grazing animals and tractors, feeding on disturbed insects.
Distinguished from the Great Egret & White Heron by its much smaller size and from immature the Little Blue Heron by having an orange bill.
White Ibis - Eudocimus albus
Family - Threskiornithidae
White Ibis are often seen foraging in the wild for crustaceans & frogs, probing mudflats with their long, red, down curved bill. Alternately, a frequent visitor to golf courses and cultivated lawns, usually in groups.
Adults are all white except for black wingtips, immature birds are a muddy brown with a white belly. The White Ibis has a body length to 26 inches, long legs and bill are red, flies with neck extended.
Great Egrets, Snowy Egrets, Wood storks, Roseate Spoonbills, and Ibis all share a common roosting place on this Florida marsh "tree island". they get quite vocal as the late arrivals squabble with others trying to get a suitable perch for the night.
Glossy Ibis - Plegadis falcinellus
Family - Threskiornithidae
The Glossy Ibis is very common throughout Florida and to a lesser degree along most of the Atlantic coast. This iridescent copper to green colored bird is most often seen feeding in either freshwater or salt water marshes, flooded fields, shallow ponds and other wet areas, probing the shallows and mud for a variety of aquatic insects and insect larvae, small fish, crayfish, tadpoles, frogs, snails, earthworms and even small snakes.
Breeds in colonies, sometimes in association with other wading birds, builds a nest in low shrubs or willows surrounded by marsh or on the ground in cordgrass marshes in dense thickets of shrubs on higher ground or in mangroves.