Heron

Egrets do not form a biologically distinct group from herons, and tend to be named differently because they are mainly white or have decorative plumes in breeding plumage.

However, one species formerly considered to constitute a separate monotypic family, the Cochlearidae or the boat-billed heron, is now regarded as a member of the Ardeidae.

Although herons resemble birds in some other families, such as the storks, ibises, spoonbills, and cranes, they differ from these in flying with their necks retracted, not outstretched.

[5] The 1971 Compact Edition of the Oxford English Dictionary describes the use of shitepoke for the small green heron of North America (Butorides virescens) as originating in the United States, citing a published example from 1853.

This name for a heron is found in a list of game birds in a royal decree of James VI (1566–1625) of Scotland.

The legs are long and strong, and in almost every species are unfeathered from the lower part of the tibia (the exception is the zigzag heron).

Herons' bills and other bare parts of the body are usually yellow, black, or brown in colour, although this can vary during the breeding season.

The wings are broad and long, exhibiting 10 or 11 primary feathers (the boat-billed heron has only nine), 15–20 secondaries, and 12 rectrices (10 in the bitterns).

The feathers of the herons are soft and the plumage is usually blue, black, brown, grey, or white, and can often be strikingly complex.

Almost all species are associated with water; they are essentially non-swimming waterbirds that feed on the margins of lakes, rivers, swamps, ponds, and the sea.

Even more rarely, herons eating acorns, peas, and grains have been reported, but most vegetable matter consumed is accidental.

[8] The most common hunting technique is for the bird to sit motionless on the edge of or standing in shallow water and to wait until prey comes within range.

Items used may be man-made, such as bread;[13] alternatively, striated herons in the Amazon have been watched repeatedly dropping seeds, insects, flowers, and leaves into the water to catch fish.

Cattle egrets improve their foraging success by following large grazing animals, catching insects flushed by their movement.

[8] Though the majority of nesting of herons is seen in or immediately around water, colonies commonly occur in several cities when human persecution is absent.

From DNA studies, and from skeletal analyses that focussed more on bones of the body and limbs, that two-group division has been revealed to be incorrect.

[19] Rather, the similarities in skull morphology among certain herons reflect convergent evolution to cope with the different challenges of daytime and nighttime feeding.

[24] For several species these results conflict with the taxonomy published online in July 2023 by Frank Gill, Pamela Rasmussen and David Donsker on behalf of the International Ornithological Committee (IOC).

The placement of the forest bittern (Zonerodius heliosylus) was ambiguous, but the results suggest that it is probably closely related to members of the genus Ardeola rather than to the subfamily Tigriornithinae.

In addition, Proherodius is a disputed fossil which was variously considered a heron or one of the extinct long-legged waterfowl, the Presbyornithidae.

In addition, as a bird that transcends elements – on the earth, in the water and in the air – the heron symbolizes the expansion of awareness and the ubiquity of consciousness.

In some Native American cultures, this bird symbolizes renewal, rejuvenation and rebirth – an ever present reminder that we are all a part of a larger cycle of life and death.

The goliath heron is the largest heron species.
A beige heron with yellow legs and bill stands hunched on a wire mesh above water, its neck folded tightly to its body and hidden among feathers.
Yellow bittern with its neck fully retracted.
two herons, one with white plumage and one with slate grey, on a rock in the surf of the ocean
The Pacific reef heron has two colour morphs , the light and the dark.
A close-up of white heron with a droplet of water on its beak.
A white heron with a droplet of water on its beak in Forest Park.
Lava heron, grey with a long bill and red feet and with small fish in bill amongst grey rocks
Lava herons are endemic to the Galápagos Islands , where they feed on fish and crabs in the intertidal and mangrove areas.
A white heron with grey legs and a yellow/orange bill standing in green grasses throwing a lizard with its bill
A great egret manipulating its prey, a lizard, before swallowing
Four black herons standing in low water with vegetation holding their wings over their bodies forming what looks like umbrellas
Black herons holding wings out to form an umbrella-like canopy under which to hunt
Tricoloured heron fishing, using wings to eliminate reflection from the water, which improves its ability to sight prey
A brown heron with brown, back and beige coloured streaks stands in similarly coloured dead grasses, its head pointed upwards
The larger bitterns, like this American bittern , are solitary breeders. To advertise for mates, males use loud, characteristic calls, referred to as booming.