Green Heron

General Description

A solitary and secretive bird, the Green Heron is stocky, dark colored, and small for a heron. The adult Green Heron has a dark rufous neck, gray belly, and dark, iridescent, greenish-blue back. The upper mandible of the bill is dark, and the legs are bright orange. The juvenile has a brown-and-white streaked neck, slight crest on its dark head, and prominently light-tipped wing coverts. Yellow spectacle-shaped markings surround the eye and extend to the bridge of the bill. These markings are present, but less pronounced, in the adult.

Green Herons are Common in Western Washington from April-October.

Habitat

Green Herons inhabit small, freshwater wetlands, ponds, and stream-sides with thick vegetation at their margins. In winter, they frequent coastal areas and mangrove swamps.

Behavior

The solitary Green Heron usually forages from a perch, where it stands with its body lowered and stretched out horizontally, ready to thrust its bill at unsuspecting prey. One of the few birds known to use tools, the Green Heron will attract prey with bait (feathers, small sticks, or berries) that it drops into the water. When out in the open, it commonly flicks its tail nervously and raises and lowers its crest. Another characteristic behavior of the Green Heron, which may help with identification, is its tendency to fly away from a disturbance giving a squawk and defecating in a white stream behind itself. (Other small herons defecate forward.) When alarmed, the Green Heron may adopt the classic bittern stance, with head held vertical, looking across the base of its bill. The Green Heron commonly calls in flight--a sharp skeow or kyow sound.