Birds of North AmericaTricolored HeronEgretta tricolor
Life, Habitat & Picture of the Tricolored Heron
Written by; Bruce Di Labio French: Aigrette tricolore
The adult, Tricolored Heron, formerly known as the Louisiana Heron, is a slender, medium sized, dark bird, distinguished by its white belly and mainly dark, slaty-grey upper parts. Its name “tricolor” is reference to the blue feathering on the wings, the white of the belly and flanks and the reddish-brown coloring on the back.
It is a common inhabitant of salt marshes and mangrove swamps along the south-eastern and gulf coasts of the United States. It is a rare, but regular visitor to southern Canada.
The Tricolored is a territorial hunter and uses a variety of hunting methods to feed including running, hopping, wing flicking, stirring and foot raking. It primarily eats fish, but also supplements its diet with crustaceans, insects, tadpoles, frogs and lizards.
It breeds harmoniously in colonies with other wading birds. Platform nests are generally located in trees and are constructed of sticks, twigs and grasses.
The female lays 3-4 pale blue-green eggs and are incubated for 21-25 days by both parents. By three weeks, the young become active and begin moving around the nest, and by five weeks, are able to take flight. Return Tricolored Heron back to Herons Classic Collection of North American Birds
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