Birds › Herons, Egrets, and Bitterns
Great Blue Heron
Ardea herodias
30 photos
Study shows up to four per card, from different observers, so you learn the species rather than one picture. Heart the good ones and swap any you do not like.
Photos you add are credited to you, and you keep the copyright.
Sounds
- Recording by Doug Hynes (XC991513). CC-BY-SA · Source
Easily confused with
Grey HeronArdea cinerea
Great EgretArdea alba
Tricolored HeronEgretta tricolor
Little Blue HeronEgretta caerulea
Yellow-crowned Night HeronNyctanassa violacea
Black-crowned Night HeronNycticorax nycticorax
Sandhill CraneAntigone canadensis
Cocoi HeronArdea cocoi
Study checks a spoken answer against these, and tells you which one you named.
Where it is recorded
| United States | 349,029 |
|---|---|
| California | 64,101 |
| Canada | 60,621 |
| Texas | 47,180 |
| Ontario | 25,107 |
| British Columbia | 22,162 |
| Nunavut | 18,935 |
| Washington | 16,242 |
| Maryland | 14,130 |
| Virginia | 12,606 |
Counts show where people looked, not only where it lives.
Traits
Group and habits
- Tree nestingListed by a harvested source as nesting in trees.BIRDBASE avian traits database
- Rock nestingListed by a harvested source as nesting on rocks or cliffs.BIRDBASE avian traits database
- Shrub nestingListed by a harvested source as nesting in shrubs.BIRDBASE avian traits database
- Ground nestingListed by a harvested source as nesting on the ground.BIRDBASE avian traits database
- Platform nestingListed by a harvested source as building platform nests.BIRDBASE avian traits database
- Fish eaterListed by a harvested source as primarily eating fish.BIRDBASE avian traits database
Classification
| Kingdom | Animals · Animalia |
|---|---|
| Phylum | Chordates · Chordata |
| Class | Birds · Aves |
| Order | Pelicans, Herons, and Allies · Pelecaniformes |
| Family | Herons, Egrets, and Bitterns · Ardeidae |
| Genus | Great Herons and Egrets · Ardea |
Study it in a deck
- Birds of Bogota Capital District, Colombia
- Birds of British Columbia, Canada
- Birds of Canton, Ohio, United States
- Birds of Centre Wellington, Ontario, Canada
- Birds of Gallatin County, Montana, United States
- Birds of Ontario
- Birds of Orangeville, Ontario, Canada
- Birds of Oshawa, Ontario, Canada
Or build your own from the species near you.
Sources
- Names, taxonomy and observation counts: www.inaturalist.org
- Photos and recordings: the creator and source are on each one.
- Traits: BIRDBASE avian traits database (CC BY 4.0)
- How much to rely on each source
Remember the name next time.
Practise Great Blue Heron with real photos from different observers and its recordings. Say the name out loud, and it comes back just before you would forget it.