Stats

Lifespan: 7-8 yrs
Size: Small
Diet: Carnivore
Activity: Crepuscular
Social: Solitary
Biome: Freshwater wetland
Range: North America
Movement: Flight
Breeding: Egg-laying
Defense: Camouflage
Status: Common

About

A small, stocky heron that hunts by standing motionless at the water's edge, and is one of the few bird species known to use tools: it will drop bait like insects or bread onto the water's surface to lure fish within striking range.

Life cycle

1.
egg
A clutch of eggs is incubated in the nest, kept warm by a brooding parent until the chicks pip free.
2.
hatchling
A naked or downy hatchling is fed in the nest by its parents.
3.
juvenile
A feathered juvenile fledges from the nest and learns to fly and forage.
4.
adult
Fully grown with adult plumage.

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Taxonomy

Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Aves
Order: Pelecaniformes
Family: Ardeidae
Genus: Butorides
Species: Butorides virescens