It can stand nearly motionless before striking at prey.
COMPLETE SPECIES PROFILE
Great blue heron
Ardea herodias
One species, many connections.
Also known as: great blue, blue heron
WHY IT MATTERS
One species, many connections.
It transfers energy from aquatic prey to terrestrial nesting colonies and signals productive shallow-water habitat.
- Scientific name
- Ardea herodias
- Animal group
- Vertebrate · Aves
- Environment
- Freshwater · Coastal
PUBLIC-DOMAIN VISUAL RECORDS
Two additional perspectives
Together with the primary image, these records show behavior and habitat without covering the photographs with labels.
INTERACTIVE TAXONOMY
Interactive classification
Select any rank to understand what the classification means.
DID YOU KNOW?
Curiosities that reveal how it lives
Its neck folds into an S shape in flight.
Great blue herons nest in colonies called rookeries or heronries.
They can hunt in both fresh and salt water.
Where it lives
Marshes, rivers, lakes, mangroves, estuaries, and shorelines.
How it lives
Fish, frogs, crustaceans, insects, reptiles, and small mammals.
Key adaptations
Long legs for wading, an S-shaped neck for rapid strikes, and broad wings for efficient flight.
Its connections
It transfers energy from aquatic prey to terrestrial nesting colonies and signals productive shallow-water habitat.
Pressures and protection
Wetland loss, disturbance at nesting colonies, entanglement, pollution, and altered water levels.