Species

Little blue heron

Egretta caerulea

A slate-blue heron whose young are pure white, making it the only heron that changes colour so completely.

Photo Dori (opens in a new tab) / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0 (opens in a new tab)

At a glance

Size: About 56 to 74 cm long
Weight: About 300 to 400 g
Habitat: Marshes, swamps, ponds, ditches and wet fields
Diet: Fish, frogs, crayfish, crabs and insects
In Georgia: Common in summer statewide; present all year on the coast
Voice: A hoarse croak
Rabies vector: No

Identification

Adult: Dark slate-blue body; maroon-purple head and neck; grey bill with a dark tip; greenish legs
Young: All white, with a grey-based, dark-tipped bill and greenish legs; blotched blue and white when moulting
Told apart from: Snowy egret, which has a black bill and yellow feet
Told apart from: Tricolored heron, which has a white belly
Where to look: Pond edges, ditches and marshes

Behaviour

Little blue herons hunt slowly and deliberately. White young birds often feed among snowy egrets, perhaps gaining safety in the flock, before moulting into blue in their second year.

Why they matter

The little blue heron's colour change from white to blue is unique among North American herons. It is a common, adaptable wader that uses small ponds and ditches as well as large marshes.

Reproduction and lifecycle

Nest — A platform of sticks in mixed colonies
Eggs — Usually three to five
Incubation — About 22 to 24 days
Chicks — Fed by both parents
Flight — At about four weeks
Maturity — Blue plumage by the second year
Lifespan — Several years

Living around people

Roadside ditches are important feeding sites; birds are sometimes hit by cars.

Misconceptions

A white heron with a grey bill is an albino or a different species. It is a young little blue heron.

Related species

Seasonal activity

When this species is breeding, and when there are nests on the ground. Mowing during the shaded months is how most nests are found.

Breeding and active nests by month for this species
	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec
Breeding	Jan: no	Feb: no	Mar: no	Apr: no	May: no	Jun: no	Jul: no	Aug: no	Sep: no	Oct: no	Nov: no	Dec: no
Active nests	Jan: no	Feb: no	Mar: no	Apr: no	May: no	Jun: no	Jul: no	Aug: no	Sep: no	Oct: no	Nov: no	Dec: no
Notes	Present on the coast	Present	Arriving inland	Nesting	Nesting	Chicks	Young fledging	Young dispersing	Present	Inland birds leave	Present on the coast	Present on the coast

Where it lives

Recorded in 50 states and provinces. Each one links to the other animals there, and to the rehabilitators licensed for them.

If you found one

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