The little blue heron (Egretta caerulea ) is a small heron belonging to the family Ardeidae.
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DiurnalDiurnal animals are active during the daytime, with a period of sleeping or other inactivity at night. The timing of activity by an animal depends ...
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CarnivoreA carnivore meaning 'meat eater' is an organism that derives its energy and nutrient requirements from a diet consisting mainly or exclusively of a...
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PiscivoresA piscivore is a carnivorous animal that eats primarily fish. Piscivorous is equivalent to the Greek-derived word ichthyophagous. Fish were the die...
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Wading birdsWading birds forage along shorelines and mudflats searching for small aquatic prey crawling or burrowing in the mud and sand. These birds live in w...
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AltricialAltricial animals are those species whose newly hatched or born young are relatively immobile. They lack hair or down, are not able to obtain food ...
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CongregatoryCongregatory animals tend to gather in large numbers in specific areas as breeding colonies, for feeding, or for resting.
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OviparousOviparous animals are female animals that lay their eggs, with little or no other embryonic development within the mother. This is the reproductive...
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PrecocialPrecocial species are those in which the young are relatively mature and mobile from the moment of birth or hatching. Precocial species are normall...
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Soaring birdsSoaring birds can maintain flight without wing flapping, using rising air currents. Many gliding birds are able to "lock" their extended wings by m...
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SemiaquaticSemiaquatic animals are those that are primarily or partly terrestrial but that spend a large amount of time swimming or otherwise occupied in wate...
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MonogamyMonogamy is a form of relationship in which both the male and the female has only one partner. This pair may cohabitate in an area or territory for...
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FlockingFlocking birds are those that tend to gather to forage or travel collectively. Avian flocks are typically associated with migration. Flocking also ...
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Partial MigrantPartial migration is when within a migratory species or even within a single population, some individuals migrate while others do not.
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Blue AnimalsLittle blue herons are long-legged wading birds with a long pointed pale blue or greyish bill with a darker or black tip. Breeding adult birds have blue-grey plumage except for the head and neck, which are purplish and have long blue filamentous plumes. Their legs and feet are dark blue/green or greenish. The sexes look similar. Non-breeding adults have dark blue heads and neck plumage and paler legs. Young birds are all white in their first year, except for dark wing tips, and have dull greenish legs. In their first spring or first summer, they gradually acquire the adults' dark plumage.
Inhabiting much of the Americas, this species is found from southern California and in the southeastern part of the US to Central Brazil and Peru. These birds are resident breeders in most of their range, but some northern populations migrate to the southeastern US or beyond in winter. Although Little blue herons often live near saltwater, they are mainly inland birds. They prefer freshwater areas like ponds, lakes, swamps, marshes, and lagoons, but sometimes may also be found in salt marshes and marine coastlines.
Little blue herons cannot be described as energetic birds. They will sometimes walk quickly, or even run, but usually, they walk slowly and daintily around marshes. They prefer to hunt solitary but will nest together with others in a small or large colony. These birds feed during the day, when their long legs allow them to wade in the water and walk slowly searching for prey, often standing motionless or retracing their steps. Little blue herons use its foot to rake the ground to disturb prey, stretching their neck so they can peer into the water. The prey is caught with their long bill. Juveniles regularly forage with Snowy egrets, as they usually catch more fish if foraging alongside these birds. This unusual strategy for feeding is believed to increase the juvenile’s chance of survival when the bird is most vulnerable to the threat of starvation, and this may also explain its white plumage. Similarly, the white color may allow young birds to integrate with flocks of other herons with white plumage and thus benefit from more protection against predators.
Little blue herons are carnivorous (piscivorous). They eat fish, frogs, lizards, turtles, snakes, and crustaceans like crabs, crayfish and shrimp, aquatic insects, and spiders. They also consume grasshoppers, beetles, crickets, and other grassland insects when the wet areas turn dry.
Little blue herons are monogamous breeders. This means that males will mate with only one female and females will mate with only one male. They nest in groups at the edges of other heron colonies. Typically, an unpaired male arrives first at the breeding area to establish his small territory, which will be the nesting site, around the fork of a tree. The male then performs a ‘stretch display’ to females, which involves an erect crest and neck feathers, pointing his bill upwards and a little lunge into the air. 3 to 5 eggs are laid in April and incubation is for around 22 to 24 days, done by both parents. Parents feed their young by dropping food into their nest, and later, putting it into the chicks’ mouths. At about 3 weeks chicks leave the nest, starting with short trips around the area of the nest. At 30 days old, they are able to fly out of the nesting area. They become independent at around 42 to 49 days and are able to breed at the age of one year.
Hunted in the past for its feathers, used in hat-making, today the biggest threat to this species is the degradation and loss of freshwater wetlands. It is also threatened in parts of its range by persecution because it forages at fish-rearing facilities, as well as by contamination from heavy metals and pesticides when it forages in cultivated fields. It may also be threatened by competition from the exotic cattle egret, this bird being more aggressive than the other herons, being thought to out-compete the Little blues for food.
According to IUCN, Little blue heron has an extremely large range but no overall population estimate is available. According to scientific research, the total population size of the species in the southeastern U.S. (Alabama, Louisiana, Mississippi, and Texas) is above 21,266 pairs. Overall, currently, Little blue herons are classified as Least Concern (LC) on the IUCN Red List but their numbers today are decreasing.
Due to their diet, Little blue herons may affect insect and fish populations in their range.
Social animals are those animals that interact highly with other animals, usually of their own species (conspecifics), to the point of having a rec...