The United States is home to 16 different species of Herons, with 12 of them being common and four being uncommon or accidental. This guide will show you how to identify and learn more about these long-legged birds.
Herons, which can be found in saltwater, freshwater, and even peering into your backyard pond for a quick snack, are water-loving birds.
Nevertheless, several of your protected fish herons eat, resulting in a net being your best option if you’re having trouble.
Herons prefer to hunt alone by standing totally still and waiting or dashing about to stir up the supper, which they do in huge colonies called heronries.
The word “rookery,” for example, refers to a group of herons, and it is just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to terms for a collection of herons.
You should learn more about the ducks, swans, or pelicans that you may see here if you like seeing waterbirds in the United States.
16 Species Of Heron In The United States
1. Great Blue Heron
The Great Blue Heron is North America’s largest heron, and it is a massive creature.
Their face is white, with a black crest or plume that stretches from the front of their eyes to the back of their heads. Their bills are orangish in color, with a yellow hue.
From the front of their eyes to the rear of their heads, they have a white face with a black crest or plume. Their bills are orange-yellow in color.
Grayish-blue bodies with long gray legs, they have long gray necks with black and white streaking in the front.
- Ardea herodias
- Length: 46 – 52 in (117 – 132 cm)
- Weight: 128 oz (3628 g)
- Wingspan: 77 – 82 in (196 – 208 cm)
Most US states have Great Blue Herons that stay throughout the year, although those that breed in the Mid-West and Canada migrate south.
In Florida, the Great White Heron is a subspecies of Great Blue Heron that is white in color.
Great Blue Herons may be found in a variety of wetlands. Fresh and saltwater marshes, mangrove swamps, flooded marshes, lake edges, and shorelines are all possible habitats for them.
Fish, frogs, salamanders, shrimps, crabs, dragonflies, grasshoppers, and other aquatic insects make up the majority of Great Blue Herons’ diets.
When wading or standing in water, they catch their prey. Hovering above water, diving into it, leaping feet-first from perches, and floating on the water’s surface are all additional possibilities.
Great Blue Heron nests are discovered in colonies high up in trees near water. Twigs and sticks are used to make the nests, which are lined with softer material.
Since Great Blue Herons reuse their nests, they may expand and add to them over time, resulting in their nests growing in size.
After that, the female lays two to seven eggs. For around four weeks, both parents alternate hatching the eggs.
Fun Fact: With their heads thrown back and their wings outstretched, Great Blue Herons defend their feeding grounds with amazing displays.
2. Great Egret
Males have neon green facial skin and long, wispy feathers (aigrettes) extending from their backs to their tails during breeding season, and great egrets are at their best.
They’re known as Great White Herons because they’re huge, all-white herons. Common egrets are another name for them. White, with dagger-like long, bright yellow beaks and long, black legs and feet, these huge birds are magnificent.
Males, females, and juveniles all have the same non-breeding appearance.
- Ardea alba
- Length: 37 – 41 in (94 – 104cm)
- Weight: 59.96 oz (1699 g)
- Wingspan: 54 – 55 in (137 – 140 cm)
The worldwide range of Great Egrets is huge. Those in the southern and coastal United States stay throughout the year, whereas those farther inland go south.
Great Egrets may be seen in both freshwater and saltwater marshes, as well as fish ponds, but not all of them.
Fish, frogs, small creatures, crustaceans, and insects make up the majority of the Great Egret’s diet. Great Egrets stand motionless on the water, waiting for their prey to come within range and then striking it with their long bills after scoping it out.
Great Egret colonies have nests. To keep the nests safe from predators like raccoons, they are typically placed high up in trees, preferably on islands.
Stick, twig, and marsh plant stems are used to make them. Females lay up to six eggs, and both parents incubate them for around twenty-five days.
Fun Fact: Due to their lengthy white feathers (aigrettes), which were primarily utilized to embellish ladies’ hats, the Great Egret was nearly hunted to extinction.
3. Snowy Egret
Little, all-white herons called Snowy Egrets, as the name implies. They have long, black beaks, long, black legs, and brilliant yellow feet. Their irises are yellow, and their skin covers their eye.
Long, lacy feathers grow on their heads, necks, and backs during the breeding season. Throughout courtship, their lores and cheeks become reddish-pink, and their toes become orange-red.
Interestingly, during aggressive encounters, these parts of their bodies turn bright red.
Adults have head plumes, but juveniles do not. Their bills and legs are also yellower, with lores and legs that are more greenish-yellow in hue.
- Egretta thula
- Length: 22 – 27 in (56 -69 cm)
- Weight: 16.75 oz (475 g)
- Wingspan: 39.4 in (100 cm)
Except for the Gulf Coast and the southwest coast, snowy egrets migrate from every state in the US. Throughout Mexico, Central, and South America, they stay throughout the year.
Marshlands, riverbanks, lakesides, pools, salt marshes, and estuaries are all good places to find Snowy Egrets in shallow marshland environments. Swamp woods with protective trees and plants are preferred for nesting.
Fish, crustaceans, snails, frogs, and crayfish are all hunted by snowy egrets in shallow water. They may remain still and wait for prey to approach them or stir the water to bring their catch to the surface, making it simpler for them to capture.
Males select Snowy Egret nesting sites. They choose a spot and attract mates by displaying themselves fully. The males continue to offer sticks, sedges, or reeds while the females construct the nest when they couple up.
Nests are frequently found on trees or in the ground, hidden among shrubs. Both parents incubate their eggs, which the female lays two to six at a time. The average incubation period is twenty-four days.
Fun Fact: Because of their exquisite white head feathers, which were sometimes used as a ornament or accessory for women’s hats, snowy Egrets were almost hunted to extinction.
4. Green Heron
Due to the glossy green-black sheen of their crowns, crests, backs, and wings, Green Herons are called such; however, from a distance they appear bowed and gloomy.
During the breeding season, their bills turn black and are two-toned, with a dark top and a yellow bottom. Their irises and legs develop a similar orange color.
Their heads, necks, and breasts are chestnut or maroon. They have a white central stripe running down the front length of the neck. Their bellies are gray.
Chestnut or maroon are the colors of their heads, necks, and breasts. A white stripe runs down the front length of their neck, with a black tip. Gray is the color of their bellies.
Browner, with black heads and a higher crest, juvenile salmon are.
- Butorides virescens
- Length: 18 – 22 in (46 – 56 cm)
- Weight: 9.17 oz (260 g)
- Wingspan: 25 – 26 in (64 – 66 cm)
Before heading south, Green Herons nest mostly in the eastern US and Pacific Coast. Those, however, are permanent along the Gulf Coast, the Caribbean, and Mexico.
Green Herons may be found in damp environments with deep vegetation, such as marshes, bogs, lakes, and ponds. They may stay in dry woods or orchards if there are water sources nearby, despite their preferences for coastal and inland wetlands.
Little fish, insects, spiders, crustaceans, snails, amphibians, reptiles, and rodents make up the Green Herons’ diet. Instead of wading, they generally hunt from shore by perched on sticks over the water.
Green Herons build nests made of long, thin twigs high in the trees near water, though some may also build them near the ground amid shrubs.
Females lay two eggs every two days, in a 2-day pattern. The last egg is deposited, and the parents begin incubating. The process takes approximately twenty days. When their eggs hatch, they both feed their young.
Fun Facts: Bait, such as bread, feathers, twigs, and leaves, is used by green herons to catch their prey. This is one of the few bird species that uses tools for foraging.
5. Little Blue Heron
The little blue herons are actually rather large. Their bodies are long and stretched, ranging in size from medium to big. With dangling feathers across the nape, their heads and necks have a purplish hue.
During the breeding season, their eyes may become gray-green. Two-toned – pale blue or grayish with black tips – their long, dagger-like bills are two-toned. Slate-blue is the color of their skin. Long and black to gray-green legs are characteristic of this species.
Until their first year of life, when they become a blend of dark gray, blue, and white, juvenile Little Blue Herons are completely white.
- Egretta caerulea
- Length: 24 – 29 in (61 – 74 cm)
- Weight: 16.22 oz (460 g)
- Wingspan: 40 – 41 in (102 – 104 cm)
Before heading south, Little Blue Herons breed in the eastern United States, then spend the winter in Mexico and South America.
Little Blue Herons may be seen around water, in swamps, marshes, ponds, streams, lagoons, tidal flats, canals, ditches, and fish hatcheries.
In comparison to other herons, Little Blue Herons forage in a more elegant manner. They simply stand and wait in shallow waters for their prey, rather than dashing around across the water.
Fish, frogs, snakes, turtles, spiders, crustaceans, mice, and insects make up the Little Blue Heron’s diet. Adults prefer to go off by themselves, whereas juveniles prefer to be part of mixed groups.
Fun Fact: Juvenile Little Blue Herons’ presence in Snowy Egrets allows them to capture more fish and gain additional protection from predators because of the white coloration.
6. Black-crowned Night-Heron
The typical description of the heron family does not apply to Black-crowned Night-Herons, or simply Night Herons. Its beak, neck, and legs are all shorter than those of other species.
Black caps that extend from a white line above the black bills of adult Black-crowned Night-herons.
The lores (in front of the eye, towards the beak) are green-blue, while their eyes are red. On the bottom, they’re white, but on the back, they’re black. Yellow is the color of their legs and feet.
Two or three white feathers appear on the crown during the breeding season, and the black coloring of the head and back turns to a glossy blue-green. The legs and feet become red or pink, while the lores turn black as well.
The overall color of juveniles is a drab grayish-brown with streaking and spotting.
- Nycticorax nycticorax
- Length: 25 – 28 in (64 – 71 cm)
- Weight: 38.8 oz (1100 g)
- Wingspan: 44 – 45 in (112 – 114 cm)
The range of black-crowned night herons stretches across the globe. Before going south, they breed in North America, especially in the United States and Canada. Along the coasts, some of them may be found all year.
Black-crowned Night-herons may be found in dampland environments such as shallow freshwater or brackish water. Artificial habitats like reservoirs, canals, and fish ponds are also used to house them.
Black-crowned Night-herons eat whatever they can find, such as crayfish, fish, and even turtles or worms, and are night-feeders.
The males establish nests of Black-crowned Night-herons, which they build in bushes or trees, in preparation for selecting their mates.
After that, the female will lay two-day intervals of up to seven eggs. For roughly twenty-four days after the eggs are deposited, both parents begin to incubate them. For roughly three weeks, the parents will look after their infant.
7. Tricolored Heron
The white belly and neck stripe of a Tricolored Heron distinguishes it from other herons.
Adults with non-breeding feathers have a blue-gray, purple, and white coloration. Their bills have a black tip and are yellowish or greyish. Yellow or olive green is the color of their legs and feet.
Adults have small, white feathers on their backs of the head and a blue coloration on the base of their bill. Their necks and backs have finer feathers as well. Their legs, too, turn scarlet in color.
The neck, upper breasts, upper back, and wings of juveniles are reddish-brown in color.
- Egretta tricolor
- Length: 24 – 26 in (61 – 66 cm)
- Weight: 14.6 oz (414 g)
- Wingspan: 36 in (91 cm)
Throughout the Gulf Coast, Mexico, and northern South America, tricolored Herons stay throughout the year. Those that breed farther north migrate south as they approach the Atlantic Coast.
Freshwater and brackish marshes, estuaries, and coastal tidal pools or swamps are all good places to look for Tricolored Herons.
Tricolored Herons are defensive of their feeding sites and feed alone. They may repel other wading birds, who love to eat small fish, frogs, crustaceans, and insects. They may also chase away those that attempt to feed on their area.
They’ll be stalking, chasing, standing, and waiting for their victim. Before striking, they squat low in the water, with their bellies touching the surface and their necks drawn in.
Tricolored Heron nests are constructed out of sticks and are found in trees and shrubs. The female lays three to five eggs, and both parents participate in the incubation process, which takes three weeks. They both breastfeed the infants as well.
Fun Fact: The only dark-colored heron with a white belly, the Tricolored Heron used to be called the Louisiana Heron.
8. Cattle Egret
Cattle Egrets utilize a clever strategy for catching their meal….they stand on the backs of cattle, allowing them to capture the startled prey as they move and disturb the earth.
Cattle Egrets have white bodies and faint orange-brown patterns on their heads, necks, and backs. They are tiny, short-necked egrets.
Yellow is the hue of their irises and facial skin. Their bills are small, and their legs are greenish-black. Males and femen also have a similar appearance.
During the breeding season, cattle egrets change color and become more vibrant, notably on their legs and face.
Their light orange patches darken during the breeding season. At the height of their courting, their bills, legs, and irises become bright red, and their facial skin (lores) becomes pinkish-red.
- Bubulcus ibis
- Length: 19 – 21 in (48 – 53 cm)
- Weight: 17.98 oz (510 g)
- Wingspan: 36 – 38 in (91 – 97 cm)
The range of Cattle Egrets extends across the globe, but they are exclusively found in Mexico’s south, the Gulf Coast, and southern US states throughout the year.
Rather, after breeding, those that breed farther north, mostly in the eastern United States.
They will venture into the edges of aquatic environments, such as riverbanks, ponds, and shallow marshes, while they prefer to remain on land and atop cattle. Golf courses, lawns, sports fields, dumps, and parks are also possible places for them to be seen.
Insects, mostly grasshoppers, crickets, flies, beetles, and moths are the main foods of cattle egrets. Spiders, frogs, little snakes, lizards, earthworms, and fish are among the other foods they consume.
Cattle Egret nests are often constructed in woodlands near lakes or rivers, in marshes, and on tiny islands. They are constructed of sticks and reeds.
The female lays nine eggs, which take around twenty-five days to hatch. The young take around 45 days to fledge, become fully independent of their parents, and develop into adults.
Fun Fact: Rather of correcting for light refraction when feeding in water, the Cattle Egret’s eyes have evolved to forage on land by having binocular vision.
9. Yellow-crowned Night-Heron
Yellow crowns with two plumes protruding from their heads distinguish adult Yellow-crowned Night Herons. Their bills are quite large, and they’re black. Their heads are mostly black, with a little white patch on either side of their eyes.
As they grew up, their eyes turned red, from yellow to orange to red.
With a scaled pattern on their wings, their bodies are gray-blue. During the breeding season, their legs grow long and turn coral, pink, or red.
Grayish-brown with white streaks and spots, juveniles start out grayish-brown all over. Three years is how long it takes for them to reach adulthood.
- Nyctanassa violacea
- Length: 22 – 28 in (56 – 71 cm)
- Weight: 25.6 oz ( 726 g)
- Wingspan: 42 0 44 in (107 – 112 cm)
Before migrating south, yellow-crowned night-herons breed mostly in southern states. Throughout Mexico, the Caribbean, and northern South America, they stay throughout the year.
In coastal regions with a lot of crustaceans, shallow water, and suitable feeding surroundings, you may see Yellow-crowned Night-herons at daybreak and dusk.
Crustaceans like crabs and crayfish make up the majority of the diet of Yellow-crowned Night-herons. Fish, insects, worms, mollusks, lizards, snakes, rodents, and birds are also among their prey. Small prey can be swallowed immediately by them.
Crabs are commonly dismembered or stabbed in the body.
Yellow-crowned Night-herons build nests near water in small, loose colonies. Both parents build the nests using grass, leaves, or moss-covered sticks and twigs.
Fun Fact: The eastern equine encephalomyelitis (EEE) virus, which can kill horses and people, is carried by the Yellow-crowned Night-heron.
10. American Bittern
In the spring of the American Bittern, you may hear the strange watery boom calls well before you see them. Below are some samples of their work.
The Heron family includes American Bitterns, which are big, solitary birds.
They have small legs and yellow eyes that turn orange during courtship.
- Botaurus lentiginosus
- Length: 23 in (58 cm)
- Weight: 25.6 oz (726 g)
- Wingspan: 42 – 50 in (107 – 127 cm)
Before moving to the Gulf Coast and Mexico, American Bitterns breed in Canada and northern US states.
In shallow, freshwater marshes and wetlands with towering reeds, you can almost always find American Bitterns.
Look for them among the coarse vegetation along the lakes’ and ponds’ edges.
Fish, crustaceans, insects, amphibians, and tiny mammals make up the American Bitterns’ diet. They forage quietly among the reeds, remaining motionless and quiet until their prey gets closer, at which point they charge forward swiftly to capture them in their bills.
Watery nests of American Bitterns may be located among coarse vegetation and are readily visible. Females choose a nest site and construct it with available reeds, sedges, cattails, and other plants.
They lay seven eggs, which take around twenty-six days to hatch. The females feed the chicks straight into their beaks when they are born. They leave the nest two weeks after birth and are fully formed at six to seven weeks.
Fun Fact: Like the reeds that conceal them, American Bitterns tilt upwards and sway gently from side to side.
11. Reddish Egret
This is one of the best birds to watch because of Reddish Egrets’ dark pink and grayish-blue tones, as well as their lively racing in pursuit of fish.
Reddish Egrets are dark and light morphs, with white morphs being uncommon. They are sometimes referred to as Reddish Egrets.
The bodies, heads, necks, and breasts of dark morph Reddish Egrets are blue-gray. Pink with a black tip, their bills are easy to spot.
White morphs have a completely white body. They, on the other hand, have blue-black legs and feet with straw yellow eyes (lores) and a darker complexion around them.
Adults of both morphs may also breed with juveniles, who are dark or white.
- Egretta rufescens
- Length: 27 – 32 in (69 – 81 cm)
- Weight: 15.9 oz (451 g)
- Wingspan: 46 in (117 cm)
From the Gulf Coast, through the East Coast, and into northern South America, Reddish Egrets may be found all year.
In open marine flats and beaches, you may detect Reddish Egrets. Marshes, shallow bays, and lagoons are also home to them.
Reddish Egrets are mostly solitary creatures that forage and eat. In the hopes of capturing fish, they cross shallow, flooded plains. They immediately stab the fish with their beaks after they’ve scared them up.
Reddish Egret nests are commonly found in groups and comprise a stick platform, constructed by both parents. Islands with adjacent feeding habitats are often used to house them.
The female lays up to seven eggs, which are fertilized by both parents and take twenty-five days to hatch. Even after they leave the nest, they both care for the young and will feed them for up to nine weeks.
Fun Fact: The male will perform a head toss display and beak snapping during mating, puffing out his feathers on his head, neck, and back.
12. Least Bittern
The Little Bitterns are the tiniest herons in North America, and they’re difficult to locate amid the reeds.
Their yellow beaks have a dark cap and black top, and they are brownish in hue. They grip the reeds with their long toes and claws.
Females and juveniles, like males, have lighter backs and crowns.
Bitterns are native to Europe and Africa, but they may venture into North America on occasion.
Least Bitterns may be found in marshlands with a lot of tall cattails and reeds, as well as dense freshwater. When they perch on reeds, look for them.
They’ll freeze up, raise their bills to the sky, and sway with the reeds as soon as they sense danger.
Little fish, frogs, tadpoles, salamanders, slugs, dragonflies, aquatic bugs, and occasionally mice are all part of the least bitterns’ diet. They take up positions among the reeds, performing acrobatic contortions in order to get their victim on the water’s surface.
Female Least Bitterns construct well-concealed nests from cattail and marsh growth that are well-camouflaged. Both parents incubate the eggs for around twenty days after she lays seven of them. After that, they feed regurgitated food to newly-hatched chicks.
Fun Fact: Long necks are seen in Least Bitterns, although they usually remain in a hunchbacked form.
13. Little Egret
The white-bodied Little Egret is the only one. Long, slender necks, black beaks, yellow eyes, yellow facial skin (lores), long black legs, and yellow feet are all features of these birds.
Little Egrets’ backs, lower throats, and backs during the breeding season are covered in wispy feathers. At the height of courtship, their face skin will turn reddish, and their feet will turn pink or reddish.
In addition, there are blue-gray dark morphs that lack the white.
Juveniles have greenish-black legs and duller yellow feet, and they appear the same as adults.
- Egretta garzetta
- Length: 22 – 26 in (56 – 66 cm)
- Weight: 17.6 oz (499 g)
- Wingspan: 34 – 41 in (86 – 104 cm)
Little Egrets are regular visitors to Europe, Asia, and Africa, but they have been known to visit the United States and Canada on occasion.
Little Egrets may be found near lakeshores, riverbanks, ponds, lagoons, marshes, and canals during the wet season, but also near fish ponds during the dry season.
Little Egrets either wait for fish to come or stir up the water in order to scare them out as their primary food.
Little Egret nests are usually constructed high up in trees or shrubs, in reed beds or mangroves, and are constructed of platform sticks. Males usually detect and transport the timber for constructing, while females do the actual work.
The female puts up to six eggs, which the male and female incubate for roughly three weeks. For almost two weeks, both parents look after their children. Six weeks after they fledge, they fledge.
Fun Fact: Because of the desire for feathers for fashion at the time, the Little Egrets were once thought to be extinct in Ireland and Great Britain.
14. Western Reef-Heron
With a long thin neck and beak, black legs, and yellow feet, Western Reef Herons are slender-bodied. Their yellow feet become orange or red during the breeding season, and their bills grow two long feathers on their nape.
Dark and White are the two color morphs of Western Reef Herons. The white have white bodies, whereas the Dark Morph have grayish-black ones. Yellow eyes, black legs, and yellow feet characterize both of them.
- Egretta gularis
- Length: 22 – 26 in (56 – 66 cm)
- Weight: 14.1 oz (400 g)
- Wingspan: 40 – 43 in (102 – 109 cm)
While the United States is visited by Western Reef Herons on rare occasions, they are most often found in Africa, Asia, and southern Europe. They may be found near the coast.
Fish, crustaceans, amphibians, mollusks, small reptiles, and birds make up the Western Reef Heron’s diet. They’ll either stay still and wait for the prey to arrive or move their feet in the shallow water to agitate it and capture it with their gigantic beaks.
Western Reef Herons build nests that are shaped like platforms out of sticks and branches. The first egg is deposited, and the females lay three to five eggs. Incubation starts immediately after that. After twenty-four days, both parents incubate the eggs, which hatch.
Fun Fact: In 1983, Nantucket saw the first Western Reef Herons in the United States, although they have since been seen many more times.
15. Gray Heron
The Gray Heron is a huge wading bird with ash-grey on top and grayish-white on the bottom feathers, hence its name.
Its neck is white with long feathers down its chest, and its head is white and black. Its bill is a pinkish-yellow color and is long. It has a long, brown leg.
Females are generally smaller than males, although they appear to be similar. The heads of juveniles are dull grey, with dark grey crowns and a gloomy grey coloration.
Great Blue Herons are bigger and have brown flanks and thighs, while Gray Herons resemble them in appearance.
- Ardea cinerea
- Length: 33 – 40 in (84 – 102 cm)
- Weight: 35.2 – 73.6 oz (997 – 2085 g)
- Wingspan: 61 – 77 in (155 – 195 cm)
The typical range of a light grey heron is Europe, Asia, and Africa, although they have become more frequent vagrants in North America.
The range of the grey herons is Europe, Asia, and Africa, with occasional sightings in North America.
Lakes, reservoirs, small and large rivers, marshes, ponds, flooded areas, coastal lagoons, estuaries, and the seashore are all places where Gray Herons may be found with water and fish.
Because of their enormous size and ability to catch prey in the water at a rapid pace, grey herons are considered apex predators.
In land, the bill is used to stab and then hammer bigger prey into submission.
Before being consumed entirely, they drown or suffocate their victim or fracture their necks (that sounds horrible!).
Females construct the nests, and males are in charge of gathering nesting material. The females lay three to five eggs, which the parents take turns incubating for about twenty-six days. Parents regurgitate fish to feed the babies when they hatch.
Fun Fact: Gray Herons fly with their heads pulled back and their long necks retracted into an S-shape, making them easy to see in flight. Herons with their heads stretched out are another kind.
16. Chinese Pond-Heron
Golden-brown streaked heads, yellow eyes, and lores (the region in front of the eye towards the beak), olive-brown backs, white bellies, and yellow legs distinguish nonbreeding adults.
Because of their distinctive color, Breeding Male Chinese Pond Herons are easily recognized. Their skulls, necks, and chests are wine-red, with a lengthy, thin crest that extends from the rear of the skull to the base of the nape.
- Ardeola bacchus
- Length: 16 – 20 in (40 – 50 cm)
- Weight: 10.8 – 12 oz (306 – 340 g)
- Wingspan: 30 – 40 in (80 – 100 cm)
In North America, Chinese Pond Herons are considered vagrants because they belong to the Pond Heron family from East Asia.
The Pond Heron family of East Asia includes Chinese Pond Herons, but they are considered vagrants in North America.
Fish, insects, crustaceans, frogs, and other small aquatic animals are common foods for Chinese Pond Herons. When prey comes in their path, they wait still and strike. They might also move at a leisurely pace and collect their food from the ground.
Chinese Pond Heron colonies consist of nests that are built high up in trees and grouped together. Little sticks are lined with leaves and grass, and they’re constructed of them.
Both parents incubate the eggs for about twenty days, which are laid by the female.
Fun Fact: On Saint Paul Island, Alaska, in August 1997, the first documented occurrence of this bird in the United States was recorded.
Checklists can help you discover which birds are most often seen in your region. In the United States, these tables show which herons are most often seen on ebird checklists throughout the summer and winter.
Herons in the United States in summer:
Great Blue Heron 16.7%
Great Egret 9.2%
Green Heron 6.2%
Snowy Egret 4.7%
Black-crowned Night-Heron 2.6%
Little Blue Heron 1.9%
Cattle Egret 1.7%
Tricolored Heron 1.3%
Yellow-crowned Night-Heron 1.1%
American Bittern 0.6%
Least Bittern 0.5%
Reddish Egret 0.2%
Little Egret <0.1%
Western Reef-Heron <0.1%
Gray Heron <0.1%
Chinese Pond-Heron <0.1%
Herons in the United States in winter:
Great Blue Heron 13.5%
Great Egret 8.1%
Snowy Egret 4.8%
Little Blue Heron 2.6%
Tricolored Heron 2.2%
Black-crowned Night-Heron 1.9%
Cattle Egret 1.4%
Green Heron 1.1%
Reddish Egret 0.5%
Yellow-crowned Night-Heron 0.4%
American Bittern 0.3%
Least Bittern 0.1%
Little Egret <0.1%