Little Blue Heron

The little blue heron (Egretta caerulea) is unique amongst herons as it is the only species with two distinct colour morphs for mature and immature birds, with the adult bird being mostly slate-blue and the immature almost entirely bold white. A medium-sized heron with a long neck and a thin, pointed, slightly downward-curving bill, the adult little blue heron also has a purplish to maroon-brown head and neck and a small white patch on the throat and upper-neck. During the breeding season, the head becomes more dark grey in colour, while the bill becomes more heavily black-tipped and the normally greyish-green legs turn to black. Long, tapering, conspicuous feathers also develop on the crest and back of breeding birds. The male and female adult little blue heron are similar in appearance, but the juvenile is markedly different, with yellowish-green legs and mostly white plumage except for pale slate-grey primary feathers. The immature bird starts to develop adult plumage during its first spring when it becomes mottled blue and white, such that it has the appearance of tie-dye. The little blue heron is rather secretive and typically forages in a slow, deliberate fashion. While at rest, it coils its neck in a characteristic S-shape http://www.arkive.org/little-blue-heron/egretta-caerulea/