Stats

Lifespan: 15-24 yrs
Size: Large
Diet: Carnivore
Activity: Diurnal
Social: Colony
Biome: Freshwater wetland
Range: North America
Movement: Flight
Breeding: Egg-laying
Defense: Camouflage
Status: Common

About

The largest heron in North America, standing nearly four feet tall on stilt-like legs as it stalks shallow water for fish. It can swallow prey several times the width of its slender neck, thanks to specially shaped vertebrae that let the throat distend.

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: Ardea
Species: Ardea herodias