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Project Noah Nature School
Butorides virescens
Small, dark heron. Long yellowish legs. Long, dark, pointed bill. Long neck often kept pulled in tight to body. Legs and neck long, but shorter than most herons. Immature Description Striped brownish on neck and chest. Back brownish with buffy spots.
Breeds in swampy thickets. Forages in swamps, along creeks and streams, in marshes, ponds, lake edges, and pastures. Winters mostly in coastal areas, especially mangrove swamps. Stands still next to water and grabs small fish with explosive dart of head and neck. One of the few birds that uses bait to attract fish, it drops such things as bread crusts, insects, and twigs onto the water.
Another one of the beautiful shore birds we seen at St. Marks National Wildlife Refuge..
Spotted on Apr 15, 2012
Submitted on Apr 17, 2012
10 Comments
Thank you Nopayahnah and Emma :)
love these birds!!
Especially like that first photo!
Thank you Gerardo. Was a beautiful day at the coast. Just enough wind to keep the heat and bugs down :)
Grate series Mary!
Thank you karen - I didn't know that either until I searched for information. I love finding out the interesting tid-bits :)
Lovely! I didn't know they used bait - how fascinating!
Thank you Blaise
Thank you Sachin
Lovely series,