Green Heron
Butorides virescens
28.0836, -80.6081
Field Notes
Description:
The Green Heron is relatively small.. Adults have a glossy, greenish-black cap, a greenish back and wings that are grey-black grading into green or blue, a chestnut neck with a white line down the front, grey under-parts and short yellow legs. The bill is dark with a long, sharp point. Female adults tend to be smaller than males, and have duller and lighter plumage, particularly in the breeding season. Juveniles are duller, with the head sides, neck and under-parts streaked brown and white, tan-splotched back and wing coverts, and greenish-yellow legs and bill. Hatchlings are covered in down feathers, light grey above, and white on the belly. (Wikipedia)
Habitat:
A year-round resident of Florida found in fresh and saltwater marshes, ponds, lakes and rivers where it stalks its prey by wading or standing motionless on a branch, log or other structure close to the waters surface.
Notes:
They typically stand still on shore or in shallow water or perch upon branches and await prey. Sometimes they drop food, insects, or other small objects on the water's surface to attract fish, making them one of the few known tool-using species.
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