AMERICAN BITTERN
Large, thick, brown bird. 23-33” in length.Wingspan: 36-45”.
BLACK-CROWNED NIGHT HERON
~25”. Also have red eyes, but plumage consistsof a black crown which extends down the back. The remainder of the bird iswhite to grey. Legs are more often yellow than orange. Because of similar size,juveniles often resemble those of the Yellow-Crowned Night Heron, having blackfeathers with brown spots throughout.
CATTLE EGRET
Anothersmaller member of Ardeidae, 18-22” long. Has a shorter, thicker neck and a thick bill. Typical adults have white plumage with a yellow bill and yellow togrey colored legs.
GREAT BLUE HERON
Largestheron in North American ranging from 36-55” in length. Wingspan can exceed 6’and standing height may be as tall as 54”. Head is mostly white with ayellow-orange bill. A black strip extends from above the eye to the back of thehead on each side. A feathered extension can be seen on the back of the head.Body is mostly blue-grey, having a rusty grey colored neck. Thighs arered-brown and legs are orange. Call is very harsh and somewhat disturbing.
GREAT EGRET
Largebird 37-40” in length. Wingspan is comparable to the Great Blue Heron. Allwhite plumage. Different from other egrets because of size all black feet andlegs. Bill is yellow.
GREEN HERON
Oneof the smaller herons, about 17” in length. It has a green crown and back. Eyesare yellow and neck is rust-colored with a white line extending down the frontof the bird. Underside is grey and legs are yellow-orange.
LEAST BITTERN
Smallerthan American Bittern; 11-14”. Underside is white with brown streaks. Maleshave a green-black crown while females are brown. Show light brown on wingswhen in flight; wingspan 16-18”.
LITTLE BLUE HERON
Anothermedium-large long-legged heron about 24” long. Also had a black tipped bill,but unlike the Tricolored Heron, the black tip gives rise to a blue to greycolor that surrounds the eye. Legs and feet are dark blue to black. Feathers onmost of body are blue-grey. Longer feathers may be present from the back to thetail and face away from the body.
SNOWY EGRET
Generallythe same size as the Cattle Egret (~24”). Also mostly white. Biggest differenceis that the Snowy Egret has black legs with yellow feet. The bill is mostlyblack but has a yellow beginning near the eyes which turns red during themating season. Eyes are yellow and a yellow-dark green line runs down the backof each leg.
YELLOW-CROWNED NIGHT HERON
Whiteon top of head as well as under the eye. Blue-grey body with yellow or orangelegs. Eyes are red. ~24”.
TRICOLORED HERON
~22”long. Medium-large sized heron with a very long beak which can be yellow orgrey with a black tip. Eyes are red and surrounded with yellow feathers thatmay extend toward the beak and/or down the front of the neck, which is longitself. Legs are darker than most members of Ardeidae. Feathers on crown extendoff the back of the head.
