Description 25-30" (64-76 cm). W. 3'2" (97
cm). A slender gray-blue heron with rufous neck and white belly.
Voice Guttural croaks and squawks.
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.
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.
