Herons & Egrets

Bare-throated Tiger-Heron

This robust tropical heron uses mangroves and freshwater wetlands.

Boat-billed Heron

The Boat-billed Heron has an unusually wide flattened bill and large dark eyes.

Great Blue Heron

This large heron searches shallow water for fish and other small animals.

Great Egret

The Great Egret is a large white wading bird that hunts by waiting or walking slowly in shallow water.

Green Heron

The Green Heron is a compact hunter with a dark greenish back, chestnut neck and a short crest.

Little Blue Heron

Adults have slate-blue bodies and purplish heads and necks.

Snowy Egret

This slender white egret often feeds actively in shallow coastal water.

Tricolored Heron

A white belly and pale stripe along the front of the neck distinguish this slender heron from the uniformly dark adult Little Blue Heron.

Yellow-crowned Night-Heron

This sturdy heron often hunts crabs and other crustaceans around coastal wetlands.

Nature Field Guide

Bare-throated Tiger-Heron

Spanish name: Garza tigre cuellinuda
Scientific name: Tigrisoma mexicanum

What Do Pico & Tati Think?

Pico wonders where the tiger is hiding. Tati points to the fine patterns on a very watchful heron.

Identification

Key Features of the Bare-throated Tiger-Heron

Bare yellow throat patch
Adult finely barred neck and body
Gray cheeks and greenish legs
Young birds have bold brown bands

Habitat & range

Scan shallow water, quiet mangrove channels and vegetated wetland margins from an established viewpoint. Follow a local guide’s directions around estuaries.

Conservation & care

Give feeding and resting birds space. If a bird stops feeding, repeatedly looks at you or moves away, increase your distance. Keep dogs away from flocks, avoid playback and feeding, and leave nests and natural shoreline debris undisturbed.

Nature Field Guide

Boat-billed Heron

Spanish name: Chocuaco o picocuchara
Scientific name: Cochlearius cochlearius

Birds · Coastal Birds · Herons & Egrets Estuary & Mangroves · Rivers & Streams · Wetlands

What Do Pico & Tati Think?

That broad bill looks unlike the pointed bills Pico has drawn. Tati adds a new shape to the explorer journal.

Identification

Key Features of the Boat-billed Heron

Very broad boat-shaped bill
Large dark eyes and black crown
Stocky body with gray back

Habitat & range

Scan shallow water, quiet mangrove channels and vegetated wetland margins from an established viewpoint. Follow a local guide’s directions around estuaries.

Conservation & care

Nature Field Guide

Great Blue Heron

Spanish name: Garzón azulado
Scientific name: Ardea herodias

Birds · Coastal Birds · Herons & Egrets Estuary & Mangroves · Freshwater · Wetlands

What Do Pico & Tati Think?

A tall, patient hunter can make the whole shoreline feel still. Pico counts its slow steps while Tati watches its folded neck.

Identification

Key Features of the Great Blue Heron

Large blue-gray body
Long legs and a heavy yellowish bill
Pale head with a dark stripe above the eye

Habitat & range

Scan shallow water, quiet mangrove channels and vegetated wetland margins from an established viewpoint. Follow a local guide’s directions around estuaries.

Conservation & care

Nature Field Guide

Great Egret

Spanish name: Garceta grande
Scientific name: Ardea alba

Birds · Coastal Birds · Herons & Egrets Estuary & Mangroves · Freshwater · Wetlands

What Do Pico & Tati Think?

Pico calls it a bright white shape in the green. Tati checks the bill and feet before giving it a name.

Identification

Key Features of the Great Egret

White plumage and long slender neck
Yellow bill
Black legs and dark feet

Habitat & range

Scan shallow water, quiet mangrove channels and vegetated wetland margins from an established viewpoint. Follow a local guide’s directions around estuaries.

Conservation & care

Nature Field Guide

Green Heron

Spanish name: Garcilla verde
Scientific name: Butorides virescens

Birds · Coastal Birds · Herons & Egrets Estuary & Mangroves · Rivers & Streams · Wetlands

What Do Pico & Tati Think?

A small hunched shape almost disappears among the roots. Pico and Tati learn that patient looking beats noisy searching.

Identification

Key Features of the Green Heron

Small hunched silhouette
Greenish back and chestnut neck
Straight pointed bill and yellowish legs

Habitat & range

Scan shallow water, quiet mangrove channels and vegetated wetland margins from an established viewpoint. Follow a local guide’s directions around estuaries.

Conservation & care

Nature Field Guide

Little Blue Heron

Spanish name: Garceta azul
Scientific name: Egretta caerulea

Birds · Coastal Birds · Herons & Egrets Estuary & Mangroves · Freshwater · Wetlands

What Do Pico & Tati Think?

Pico expects every Little Blue Heron to be blue. Tati discovers that young birds tell a different color story.

Identification

Key Features of the Little Blue Heron

Adult slate-blue body and purplish neck
Two-toned bill with a dark tip
Juveniles are white, unlike the illustrated adult

Habitat & range

Scan shallow water, quiet mangrove channels and vegetated wetland margins from an established viewpoint. Follow a local guide’s directions around estuaries.

Conservation & care

Nature Field Guide

Snowy Egret

Spanish name: Garceta patiamarilla
Scientific name: Egretta thula

Birds · Coastal Birds · Herons & Egrets Estuary & Mangroves · Sand & Mud Flats · Wetlands

What Do Pico & Tati Think?

Those yellow feet catch Pico’s attention. Tati waits to see whether the bird uses them while feeding.

Identification

Key Features of the Snowy Egret

White body and slim black bill
Black legs with yellow feet
Often active in shallow water

Habitat & range

Scan shallow water, quiet mangrove channels and vegetated wetland margins from an established viewpoint. Follow a local guide’s directions around estuaries.

Conservation & care

Nature Field Guide

Tricolored Heron

Spanish name: Garceta tricolor
Scientific name: Egretta tricolor

Birds · Coastal Birds · Herons & Egrets Estuary & Mangroves · Sand & Mud Flats · Wetlands

What Do Pico & Tati Think?

Pico follows a quick turn in the shallows. Tati notices the white belly beneath the darker neck.

Identification

Key Features of the Tricolored Heron

Dark blue-gray upperparts
White belly and pale front-neck stripe
Long slim bill and lively feeding movements

Habitat & range

Scan shallow water, quiet mangrove channels and vegetated wetland margins from an established viewpoint. Follow a local guide’s directions around estuaries.

Conservation & care

Nature Field Guide

Yellow-crowned Night-Heron

Spanish name: Martinete cabecipinto
Scientific name: Nyctanassa violacea

Birds · Coastal Birds · Herons & Egrets Estuary & Mangroves · Rocky Shore · Wetlands

What Do Pico & Tati Think?

Pico reads the word night and expects an invisible bird. Tati learns that feeding can also happen in daylight.

Identification

Key Features of the Yellow-crowned Night-Heron

Adult gray body
Dark face with pale cheek and crown
Heavy dark bill
Juveniles are brown and spotted

Habitat & range

Scan shallow water, quiet mangrove channels and vegetated wetland margins from an established viewpoint. Follow a local guide’s directions around estuaries.

Conservation & care