Great Blue Heron (Breeding Plumage)

Description:

The largest of all North American herons, this gray-blue bird has a yellow bill with red near the tip, brown legs and black stripe across top of head that meets in the back with long black feathers. Long gray feathers fall from the bottom of the long neck and the top of the wings. This is part of the breeding plumage. There is brown and black on the body under the wings. The very front of the shoulder is also brown.

Habitat:

This one was in a field along the highway in San Pasqual. "It can be found in a range of habitats, in fresh and saltwater marshes, mangrove swamps, flooded meadows, lake edges, or shorelines, but always close to bodies of water, usually nesting in trees or bushes." - Wikipedia

Notes:

This is one of five subspecies found in N.A. and is the most common. "The subspecies differ only slightly in size and plumage tone. The primary food for Great Blue Heron is small fish, though it is also known to opportunistically feed on a wide range of shrimp, crabs, aquatic insects, rodents and other small mammals, amphibians, reptiles, and small birds. Herons locate their food by sight and usually swallow it whole." - Wikipedia