Stats

Lifespan: 5-15 yrs
Size: Medium
Diet: Carnivore
Activity: Diurnal
Social: Colony
Biome: Freshwater wetland
Range: Americas
Movement: Flight
Breeding: Egg-laying
Defense: Camouflage
Status: Common

About

A medium-sized wading heron of the Americas; adults are a deep slate-blue with a rich maroon-purple head and neck. Uniquely, juveniles hatch pure white and shift to adult plumage through a striking 'calico' patchy phase during their first year.

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: Egretta
Species: Egretta caerulea