In Wyoming, four of the seventeen species of herons that live in North America have been spotted. There are seven more that are uncommon or unintentional. This guide can assist you identify and learn about these long-legged birds.
Herons are water-loving birds that can be found peering into your backyard pond for a quick snack, whether they’re in saltwater or freshwater.
But, many of your fish herons are protected, so a net is your best bet if you’re having trouble feeding them.
Herons often build huge colonies called heronries where they breed, but they prefer to hunt on their own by remaining completely motionless and waiting or by darting about.
A collection of herons is known as a “rookery,” and there are a slew of other terms for such as “battery,” “hedge,” and so on.
You may learn more about the ducks, swans, and pelicans you may see in Wyoming if you like seeing waterbirds.
11 Species Of Heron In Wyoming
1. Great Blue Heron
Throughout central Wyoming, Great Blue Herons may be seen all year, but during the breeding season across the rest of the state, their numbers grow. Summer checklists from bird watchers for the state include them at 10% and winter checklists from bird watchers include them at 1%.
The largest heron native to North America, Great Blue Herons are enormous, majestic birds.
From the front of their eyes to the back of their heads, they have a white face with a black crest or plume. They have a yellowish-orange bill.
Their face is white, with a black plume or crest that extends from the front of their eyes to the back of their heads. Yellow-orangish is the color of their bills.
They have grayish-blue bodies and long gray legs, with 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 throughout the year, however they migrate south during the breeding season.
In Florida, the Great White Heron is a subspecies of the Great Blue Heron that is white morph.
Great Blue Herons may be found in a variety of wetland habitats. Fresh and saltwater marshes, mangrove swamps, flooded marshes, lake edges, and shorelines are all places where they may be found.
Fish, frogs, salamanders, shrimps, crabs, dragonflies, grasshoppers, and other aquatic insects make up the majority of Great Blue Herons’ diet.
When wading or standing in water, they are able to capture their prey. They may also spring from perches feet-first or float on the water’s surface, among other things.
Great Blue Heron colonies can be found high in the trees, near to water, where they build nests. Twigs and sticks are used to build the nests, which are lined with softer material.
Great Blue Herons rebuilt and expanded their nests over time, making them more durable and extending their lives.
The female then deposits two to seven eggs. For roughly four weeks, both parents feed the eggs and care for them.
Fun Fact: With their heads thrown back, Great Blue Herons use spectacular wing-outstretched displays to protect their feeding grounds.
2. Black-crowned Night-Heron
The breeding season in Wyoming, particularly around Laramie and Cheyenne, is spent by Black-crowned Night-Herons. From April to September, they can be found on 1% of summer checklists.
The typical image of the heron family does not apply to black-crowned Night-Herons, or simply Night Herons. It has a shorter bill, neck, and legs than other species.
Black caps that stretch from a white line above the black beaks of adult Black-crowned Night-herons.
The lores (in front of the eye, towards the beak) are green-blue, and their eyes are red. They have a darker back and are white on the bottom. Yellow is the color of their legs and feet.
The head and back are black during the breeding season, but two or three white feathers appear on the crown, and the coloration changes to glossy blue-green. The legs and feet turn red or pink, while the lores turn black as well.
The overall color of juveniles is a dull grayish-brown with streaks and spots.
- 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 spans the globe. Before heading south, they breed in the United States and Canada. Some may be found year-round near the coastlines.
Wetland environments such as shallow freshwater or brackish rivers are home to Black-crowned Night-herons. Artificial habitats such as reservoirs, canals, and fish ponds are also common uses for them.
Black-crowned Night-herons eat whatever they can find at night, such as crayfish, fish, and even turtles or worms. They are night-feeders.
The males build nests for Black-crowned Night-herons in bushes or trees in preparation for choosing their mates.
After that, the female will lay up to seven eggs at two-day intervals. For roughly twenty-four days, both parents begin to incubate the eggs that have been laid. For approximately three weeks, the parents will look after the infant.
Fun Fact: For more than a century, the National Zoo in Washington, DC has hosted a colony of Black-crowned Night-herons during the summer.
3. Snowy Egret
During the breeding season, from April to September, snowy egrets are most often seen in Wyoming, although they are not especially common.
Little, all-white herons known as Snowy Egrets. They feature long, black beaks, long black legs, and brilliant yellow toes. They have yellow irises and skin around their eye.
Long, lacy feathers cover their heads, necks, and backs during the breeding season. During courting, their lores or face skin become reddish-pink, and their toes turn orange-red.
Interestingly, during aggressive encounters, these sections of their bodies become bright red.
Immature birds have head plumes, but they are essentially identical to adults. Lores and legs are more greenish-yellow, and the colors on their bills and legs are also lighter.
- 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 southwest coasts, snowy egrets migrate across most of the United States. Throughout Mexico, Central, and South America, they stay throughout the year.
Snowy Egrets may be found around marshes, riverbanks, lakesides, pools, salt marshes, and estuaries in shallow, watery 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 can rest quietly and wait for prey to come to them or, alternatively, they may stir the water so that their prey is easier to catch.
The males pick the nests of Snowy Egrets. They choose a spot and go on display in order to attract their prospective partners. Males continue to provide sticks, sedges, or reeds for the female as she builds the nest when they join up.
Nests are commonly found on trees or in shrubs on the ground. Both parents incubate their eggs, and the female lays two to six eggs. The incubation period is normally twenty-four days.
Fun Fact: Because of their lovely white head feathers, which were ideal for women’s hats, snowy egrets were almost hunted to extinction.
4. American Bittern
During the breeding season, from mid-April to October, American Bitterns are not commonly seen in Wyoming.
In the spring of the American Bittern, if you’re lucky, you’ll hear their weird watery boom calls before seeing them. Below are some examples of the work they’ve done:
The Heron family includes American Bitterns, which are powerful, medium-sized birds.
Because of their brown striped and mottled patterning, they appear to be the reeds they hide in, and their ability to stay motionless amid the reeds with their head tilted up contributes to this.
They have short legs and yellow eyes that change to orange during courtship.
- Botaurus lentiginosus
- Length: 23 in (58 cm)
- Weight: 25.6 oz (726 g)
- Wingspan: 42 – 50 in (107 – 127 cm)
Before migrating to the Gulf Coast and Mexico, American Bitterns breed in Canada and northern US states.
Shallow freshwater marshes and wetlands with tall reeds are virtually home to American Bitterns.
Look for them among the coarse vegetation on the edges of lakes and ponds.
Fish, crustaceans, insects, amphibians, and small mammals make up the American Bitterns’ diet. They wait quietly and still among the reeds, occasionally moving slowly to capture their prey before darting quickly forward to capture them in their bills.
American Bittern Calls: Listen to their strange watery boom calls. It’s one of the strangest bird calls I’ve ever heard.
On the water, among coarse vegetation, nests of American Bitterns may be found. With available reeds, sedges, cattails, and other vegetation, females choose a nest location and construct it themselves.
They incubate seven eggs for roughly twenty-six days before laying them. The females feed the chicks directly into their beaks when they are hatched. They fly from the nest at two weeks old, and it takes them six to seven weeks to completely fledge.
Fun Fact: Like the reeds that conceal them, American Bitterns tip up and swing gently from side to side.
5. Great Egret
In Wyoming, Great Egrets are considered a uncommon or accidental species; nevertheless, they may be seen from April through October each year.
When males have neon green facial skin and long, wispy feathers (aigrettes) extending from their backs to their tails, Great Egrets are at their best during the breeding season.
They’re often referred to as Great White Herons because of their enormous size. Common egrets are another name for them. White big birds with dagger-like, long, brilliant yellow beaks and long black legs and feet.
Males, females, and juveniles all have the same appearance.
- Ardea alba
- Length: 37 – 41 in (94 – 104cm)
- Weight: 59.96 oz (1699 g)
- Wingspan: 54 – 55 in (137 – 140 cm)
Great Egrets have a vast range around the world. Those in the southern and coastal US states remain all year, but those more inland and in Canada migrate south.
Fish, frogs, small mammals, crustaceans, and insects make up the majority of the diet of Great Egrets. Great Egrets, which stand motionless on the water waiting and scouting for their victim before striking and spearing it with their long bills, are a sight to behold.
In colonies, Great Egret nests can be found. To keep the nests safe from predators like raccoons, they are usually positioned high in trees, preferably on islands.
Marsh plant stems, sticks, and twigs are used to make them. Both parents incubate the eggs for around twenty-five days. Females lay up to six eggs, and both parents are involved in the process.
Fun Fact: Due to their long white feathers (aigrettes), the Great Egret was virtually hunted to extinction.
6. Cattle Egret
In Wyoming, cattle egrets are an uncommon sight and have been declared an accidental species. In 2022, they were seen in the vicinity of Little America and Laramie.
Cattle Egrets utilize a clever method of catching their meal…they stand on the backs of cattle, so that when the cattle shift and disturb the substrate, they snag the startled diet.
Cattle Egrets have white bodies and light orange-brown patches on their heads, necks, and backs. They are small, short-necked egrets.
Their irises and skin around their faces are yellow. They have short yellow beaks and greenish-black legs. Males and females have a lot in common looks-wise.
During the breeding season, Cattle Egret feathers become more vivid, particularly on their legs and face.
Their light orange patches become darker orange during the breeding season. At the peak of their courting, their bills, legs, and irises turn a brilliant red color, while their face 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)
Throughout North America, cattle egrets may be found throughout the year, however they are more abundant in the south, particularly in Mexico and the Gulf Coast.
Those that breed further north, mostly in the eastern United States, migrate south following breeding.
Cattle Egrets can be found in native grasslands, grazing pastures, grain fields, and rice paddies, particularly when hoofed animals are present.
They do venture into the edges of aquatic environments, such as riverbanks, ponds, and shallow marshes, but they prefer to stay on land and on top of cattle. Golf courses, lawns, athletic fields, dumps, and parks are other places where they may be found.
Insects, mostly grasshoppers, crickets, flies, beetles, and moths are the main foods of cattle egrets. Spiders, frogs, tiny snakes, lizards, earthworms, and fish are among the animals they eat.
Cattle Egret nests are usually built in woodlands near lakes or rivers, in swamps, or on small islands and are made of sticks and reeds.
The female lays up to nine eggs, which take around twenty-five days to hatch. The youngsters take roughly 45 days to reach fledge, become completely self-sufficient, and develop.
Fun Fact: Instead of compensating for light refraction when feeding in water, the Cattle Egret’s eyes have evolved to forage on land and have binocular vision to judge distance.
7. Green Heron
In Wyoming, the Green Heron is considered an accidental species. There were reports in Gillette, Newcastle, and Laramie in 2022 of them being sighted in the state.
The glossy green-black color of their crowns, crests, backs, and wings attracts the attention of Green Herons, but if you get closer to them they appear bent and gloomy.
During the breeding season, their bills turn black, and they have two-toned coloring: dark on top and yellow on bottom. Their irises and legs both change color from yellow to orange.
Chestnut or maroon are the colors of their heads, necks, and breasts. A white stripe runs down the front length of the neck, with a black tip. Gray is the color of their bellies.
Browner and with a taller crest, juveniles are darker.
- Butorides virescens
- Length: 18 – 22 in (46 – 56 cm)
- Weight: 9.17 oz (260 g)
- Wingspan: 25 – 26 in (64 – 66 cm)
Before migrating south, Green Herons breed mostly in the eastern United States and the Pacific Coast. Those in the Gulf Coast, Caribbean, and Mexico, on the other hand, are permanent.
Green Herons may be found in bogs, marshes, lakes, ponds, and other wetlands with thick vegetation. 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 Heron’s diet. Rather of wading, they hunt from shore by perched on sticks over the water.
Green Heron nests are typically built high in the trees above water, although they may be hidden on the ground beneath bushes as well. They are composed of long, slender twigs.
Females lay two eggs every two days, in two-day intervals. The final egg is deposited, and the parents’ incubation begins around twenty days later. When the eggs are hatched, both parents feed their young.
Fun Facts: Bait, such as bread, feathers, twigs, and leaves, are used by green herons to catch their prey. This is one of the few bird species that does so. (Davis and Kushlan, 1994).
8. Tricolored Heron
In Wyoming, Tricolored Herons are an accidental species. These were seen near Hutton Lake National Wildlife Refuge in 2018, and they are extremely uncommon in the state.
The white belly and neck stripe of the Tricolored Herons distinguishes it from other herons.
Adults that are not breeding have a blue-gray, purple, and white plumage. Yellowish or greyish in color, with a black tip, their bills are. Yellow or olive green are the colors of their legs and feet.
Adults’ back feathers are thin, and their bill base becomes blue during breeding season. Their necks and backs have also gotten finer feathers. Their legs, too, take on a reddish hue.
The neck, upper breasts, upper back, and wings of juveniles are more reddish-brown in color.
The neck, upper breasts, upper back, and wings of juveniles are darker reddish-brown.
- 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 may be seen all year. Those that breed farther north migrate south along the Atlantic Coast.
Tricolored Herons may be found in fresh and brackish marshes, estuaries, and coastal tidal pools or swamps.
Tricolored Herons are protective of their feeding sites and feed singly. Other wading birds will be driven away from their area, and they will like to devour tiny fish, frogs, crustaceans, and insects.
Look for them to stalk, pursue, stand, and wait for their victim. Before striking, they squat low in the water with their bellies near to the surface and their necks drawn in.
Tricolored Heron nests are constructed of sticks and placed in trees and bushes in colonies. The female lays three to five eggs, and both parents help to incubate them for three weeks before they hatch. The little ones are also fed by both of them.
Fun Fact: The Louisiana heron was the name given to the Tricolored Heron, which is the only dark-colored heron with a white belly.
9. Little Blue Heron
In Wyoming, just a few documented sightings of Little Blue Herons have been recorded. In 2016, they were last seen near Burlington Lake.
Little Blue Herons aren’t as small as they seem. With long, stretched bodies, they range in size from medium to large. With dangling feathers across the nape, their heads and necks have a purplish hue.
During the breeding season, their eyes grow lighter and may turn gray-green. They have two-toned bills that are pale blue or grayish with black tips. Slate-blue is the color of their corpses. They have black to gray-green legs that are long and slender.
Before becoming a blend of dark gray, blue, and white, juvenile Little Blue Herons are completely white throughout their first year.
- 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, but those in the Gulf Coast and Mexico stay in South America all year.
Little Blue Herons may be found near water, such as in marshes, ponds, streams, lagoons, tidal flats, canals, ditches, fish hatcheries, and flooded fields.
In comparison to other herons, Little Blue Herons forage more gracefully. They simply stand and wait in shallow waters for their prey, rather than dashing about across the water.
Fish, frogs, snakes, turtles, spiders, crustaceans, mice, and insects are among the foods Little Blue Herons consume. juveniles prefer to stay with mixed groups, while adults tend to forage alone.
Little Blue Herons build nests out of sticks, which are commonly found in colonies with other herons. Up to six eggs are laid by the female. For up to twenty-four days, both parents share in the incubation.
Fun Fact: Juvenile Little Blue Herons’ mingling with Snowy Egrets allows them to capture more fish and offer additional protection from predators because of their white coloring.
10. Least Bittern
In Wyoming, the Least Bittern is an accidental species that has not been seen in many years.
In the reeds, you may first hear Least Bitterns, the smallest herons in North America.
With a black head and yellow beak, they range in color from brown to white. They grip the reeds with their long toes and claws.
Females and juveniles have lighter backs and crowns than males.
- Ixobrychus exilis
- Length: 11 – 14 in (28 – 36 cm)
- Weight: 3 oz (85 g)
- Wingspan: 16 – 18 in (41 – 46 cm)
Little Bitterns are generally found across Europe and Africa, although they may go as far north as Canada at times.
Least Bitterns may be found in dense freshwater and brackish marshlands, along with a wealth of tall cattails and reeds. Look for them perched on reeds.
They’ll immediately stiffen, raise their bills to the sky, and sway in tandem with the reeds if they sense danger.
Little fish, frogs, tadpoles, salamanders, slugs, dragonflies, aquatic bugs, and occasionally mice are among the foods of least bitterns. They position themselves on the reeds, sometimes doing acrobatic contortions just to reach their victim in the water’s surface.
The female of the Least Bitterns builds well-concealed nests from cattails and marsh foliage, which are well-concealed. Both parents incubate the eggs for around twenty days after she lays up to seven of them. After that, they feed regurgitated food to newly-hatched chicks.
Fun Fact: The neck of the Least Bitterns is quite long, yet it remains bent.
11. Yellow-crowned Night-Heron
In Wyoming, yellow-crowned night-herons are an accidental species, and they haven’t been seen here in a long time, according to records.
Adult Yellow-crowned Night Herons have yellow crowns with 2 plumes extending from their heads. Their large bills are black. The rest of their heads are black, with a small white patch on the sides below their eyes.
Yellow crowns with two plumes protruding from their heads characterize adult Yellow-crowned Night Herons. They have huge black bills. The rest of their skulls are black, with a small white patch on the sides below their eyes.
As they grew up, their eyes turned from yellow to orange to red.
Their wings have a scaled pattern and their bodies are gray-blue. During the breeding season, their legs grow longer and yellow, eventually turning coral, pink, or red.
Grayish-brown with white streaks and spots, juveniles begin as grayish-brown. It takes three years 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 the southeastern United States. Throughout Mexico, the Caribbean, and northern South America, they stay throughout the year.
In coastal areas with a lot of crustaceans, shallow waters, and sufficient edges where to feed, you may notice Yellow-crowned Night-herons at daylight and dusk.
Crustaceans like crabs and crayfish make up the majority of Yellow-crowned Nightherons’ diets. Fish, insects, worms, mollusks, lizards, snakes, rodents and birds are among the animals they consume. They can devour tiny creatures in a flash.
Crabs are often dismembered or stabbed in the body.
Yellow-crowned Night-herons’ nests are typically found in tiny, loosely grouped colonies, but they always locate near water. Both parents fashion nests out of grass, leaves, or moss-softened sticks and twigs.
They then incubate up to eight eggs for around three weeks together. Chicks are fed through regurgitation when they hatch. They fledge after approximately a month and can fly on their own at fifty days.
Fun Fact: The eastern equine encephalomyelitis (EEE) virus, which can kill horses and humans, is carried by the Yellow-crowned Night-heron.
How Frequently Herons Are Spotted In Wyoming In Summer And Winter
To learn which birds are most frequently seen in your area, use checklists. In the summer and winter in Wyoming, these lists show which herons are most often seen on ebird checklists.
Herons in Wyoming in summer:
Great Blue Heron 10.4%
Black-crowned Night-Heron 1.3%
Snowy Egret 0.3%
American Bittern 0.1%
Great Egret 0.1%
Cattle Egret <0.1%
Green Heron <0.1%
Tricolored Heron <0.1%
Little Blue Heron <0.1%
Least Bittern <0.1%
Yellow-crowned Night-Heron <0.1%
Herons in Wyoming in winter:
1.0% of Great Blue Herons are of this species.