Louisiana heron
The tricolored heron (Egretta tricolor ), formerly known as the Louisiana heron, is a small species of heron native to coastal parts of the Americas; in the Atlantic region, it ranges from the northeastern United States, south along the coast, through the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean, to northern South America as far south as Brazil. In the Pacific region, it ranges from Peru to California, but it is only a nonbreeding visitor to the far north.
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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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TerrestrialTerrestrial animals are animals that live predominantly or entirely on land (e.g., cats, ants, snails), as compared with aquatic animals, which liv...
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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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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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PredatorPredators are animals that kill and eat other organisms, their prey. Predators may actively search for or pursue prey or wait for it, often conceal...
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TerritorialA territory is a sociographical area that which an animal consistently defends against the conspecific competition (or, occasionally, against anima...
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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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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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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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Generally solitaryGenerally solitary animals are those animals that spend their time separately but will gather at foraging areas or sleep in the same location or sh...
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ColonialColonial animals live in large aggregations composed of two or more conspecific individuals in close association with or connected to, one another....
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MigratingAnimal migration is the relatively long-distance movement of individual animals, usually on a seasonal basis. It is the most common form of migrati...
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starts withAptly named, this beautiful water bird that lives in the Americas (originally called the Louisiana heron in North America) has slate-gray upperparts and bright white underparts, with reddish stripes on its neck. The Tricolored heron becomes even more colorful during the breeding season, when its bill turns bright blue and has a black tip, its neck feathers become bluish-purple, its legs deep pink, a crest of white develops on its head, and its neck and shoulder plumage turns violet. Very slender, with a long bill and neck and long legs, this heron often wades belly-deep within coastal lagoons.
This species lives in southern and eastern North America (along the coast of Maine, in Texas, and along the coasts of Mexico), in the coastal areas of Central America, in the West Indies, and along the South American coasts to Brazil at the mouth of the Amazon River and across to the Pacific Coast off northern Peru. It inhabits shores and shallow marshes, mudflats, mangroves, bays, and swamps that have woodland cover because often it perches in trees.
Tricolored herons are a migratory species. They are diurnal, usually solitary, and defend their hunting area strongly, charging at other invaders of the same species, as well as other wading species. They generally stand in shallow water to seek their prey, usually walking quickly, but, depending on the habitat, they may run rapidly through the shallow water with their wings partly raised, sometimes with one foot far forward, vibrating their foot rapidly on the bottom to flush out prey. They will change their foraging strategy to be able to continue to catch their preferred prey. Tricolored herons are usually silent when not in the breeding colonies, but when flushed they produce a harsh, nasal croak. Their common call sounds like a loud sharp “kyowk”.
Tricolored herons are carnivores (piscivores) and 90% of their diet is fish, but they also eat amphibians, crustaceans, gastropods, worms, leeches, spiders and insects.
Tricolored herons are monogamous, with a male mating with only one female, a female mating with only one male. When a pair has bonded, the male chooses a nesting site and they begin to build a nest of sticks. Nesting runs from early to mid-March. Nests are built on a bed of reeds or in a tree. 3 to 4 eggs are laid, blue to blue-green in color. Incubation is for about 21 days. Hatching occurs over several days and the first chick born is more likely to survive than the second, and so on. Once all the chicks have hatched, it takes about 35 days for them to start to fly. Both parents care for the young and gather food for them. Once fledged, the chicks will look after themselves.
The Tricolored heron is threatened in some parts of its range due to disturbance, pollution, and habitat loss. While nesting, it is especially vulnerable to human interference, as breeding birds may abandon their nests, leaving their brood defenseless against exposure and predators. Occasionally this bird is hunted for food, including its eggs. Culls are occasionally permitted where there are aquaculture farms in order to limit this species’ predation of farmed crustacean stocks. The heron population in the Florida Everglades has been in decline due to habitat degradation and the associated decrease in food.
This species has an extremely large range. According to the Heron Conservation resource, the total population size of the Tricolored heron in the U.S. exceeds 200,000 birds. It is common in Suriname, with 10,000 pairs and there are 5,000 in Guyana. The All About Birds resource records that the U.S. breeding population is no more than 194,000 birds. Overall, currently, Tricolored herons are classified as Least Concern (LC) on the IUCN Red List and their numbers today remain stable.
Due to their diet, Tricolored herons may affect fish populations in their range.
