Tricolored Heron - Breeding Plumage

The tricolored heron (Egretta tricolor) is a small species of heron native to coastal parts of the Americas. The species is more solitary than other species of heron in the Americas and eats a diet consisting mostly of small fish. Tricolored herons breed in swamps and other coastal habitats and nests in colonies, often with other herons, usually on platforms of sticks in trees or shrubs. In each clutch, three to seven eggs are typically laid.
The species' range follows the northeastern United States, south along the coast, through the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean, to northern South America as far south as Brazil. In the Pacific region, it ranges from Peru to California, but it is only a nonbreeding visitor to the far north.
This species measures from 22 to 30 in long and has a typical wingspan of 38 in. The slightly larger male heron weighs 14.6 oz on average, while the female averages 11.8 oz. It is a medium-large, long-legged, long-necked heron with a long, pointed, yellowish or greyish bill with a black tip. Its legs and feet are dark. The plumage of the triclolored heron changes dramatically from its juvenile form to its adult form.

Adults have a blue-grey head, neck, back, and upper wings, with a white line along the neck. The belly is white. In breeding plumage, they have long, blue, filamentous plumes on their heads and necks, and buff ones on their backs. The tricolored heron is more solitary when foraging than other North American herons. When it forages for its prey, mostly small fish, it is typically belly-deep in water, alone or at the edge of a mixed flock.
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