Ardea herodias
California Department of Fish and Game "Special Animal"
Life History
This is a lean, grayish-blue heron. The body of the great blue heron averages 46
inches in length and has a wingspan of 72 inches. This bird is easily recognizable by it size,
color, the black stripe that extends above the eye, and a white foreneck that is streaked with
black. Breeding adults have ornate plumes on their head, neck, and back. In flight, the folded
neck as well as slow, long wingbeats is a strong indicator that the bird is a heron.
This heron is monogamous and usually nests in colonies in the tops of secluded large
snags or live trees, picking the tallest available. Courtship and nest building begins shortly
after February and the eggs are laid in late February or March. Clutch size can be one to
eight eggs, but averages three or four. The incubation of these eggs takes about 28 days at
which time the hatched young are cared for by both adults. The young may fly by seven
weeks but still return to the nest for two to three weeks after that and may continue to be fed
by the adults for another week or so.
Tall riparian-type trees are needed for perching and roost sites. Also, secluded large
snags or groves of live trees are needed for colony nesting. These need to be located within
10 miles of feeding areas.
This bird is fairly common in shallow estuary systems and fresh and saline emergent
wetlands all year throughout most of California. They are somewhat less common along
riverine systems, rocky coastlines, croplands, pastures, and in the mountains above the
foothills.
The slender bill of the great blue heron, 4 1/2 to 6 inches long, serves as an effective
pincher for its food items. Nearly 75 percent of the diet is fish, mostly species not sought by
humans, but they will also prey on small rodents, amphibians, reptiles,
insects, crustaceans, and occasionally small birds. Feeding behavior includes standing
motionless in one place, probing, pecking, or walking slowly when searching for prey in
shallow water. Diving for fish in deeper water has been observed occasionally but is
considered to be unusual behavior for this species.
The great blue heron is designated a "Special Animal" because of the close association
it has with a habitat that is continuing to decline in California. Additionally, tree cutting,
water recreation, draining of wetland habitats, building, and highway construction have all
contributed to rookery abandonment in recent years.
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