Hear a story about the great blue heron.
Hear a great blue heron.

adapted from The Birds of Texas
by John L. Tveten

Standing four feet tall, and with a wingspread of six feet, the great blue heron ranks as the largest of the North American herons and egrets. It is also one of the most widely distributed, breeding from southeastern Alaska to Nova Scotia and southward across the continent to Mexico and the West Indies.

In Texas the great blue heron is most common along the coast, but it can also be seen beside streams, ponds and lakes throughout the state. It is often erroneously called a "crane," but the herons and cranes are quite different in their anatomy and habits and are not closely related.

The great blue heron is a large, gray-blue bird with a black stripe that extends above the eye. Its foreneck is white with black streaks, and its bill and legs are long and yellow. The juvenile heron has an all black cap. During the breeding season, ornate plumes decorate the head, neck and back of breeding adults.

The heron's nest is a crude platform of sticks constructed in a bush or tree, usually in a colony with other herons. The female lays three to five large blue eggs, which hatch in 28 days. The young are ready to fly within two months.

Standing quietly among the marsh grasses, seeking shelter from wind or rain, the great blue heron draws its head down on its shoulders and looks much smaller than when it stalks the shore or shallows with its long neck extended. In flight, its neck is drawn back in a graceful S-curve, and the long legs trail out behind. The wide, powerful wings beat only twice each second.

Heron colonies often contain several species.

More Facts... Herons are "wading birds" and have long legs, neck and bill for stalking food in shallow water. Herons feed primarily on fish, but also eat insects, turtles, frogs, snakes, crawfish, lizards, and rodents. There are a dozen species of herons, including egrets, and bitterns, that regularly occur in North America, and all are fairly common within Texas.

More Interviews and Links... Hear an interview on how to tell a great blue heron from a sandhill crane. Visit these websites for more information USGS website with photos and scientific data on the great blue heron. Checklist of scientific names of Texas herons and allies. Photos of herons, egrets and other wading birds.