Little Blue Heron

Egretta caerulea

Length: 26 inches	Wingspan: 40 inches	Seasonality: Summer
ID Keys: Dark bluish-gray overall, gray bill with black tip.  Immatures have all-white plumage.

A smaller heron that is normally found in the southeastern United States.  Little Blue Herons are generally quite wary and difficult to approach as they wade in shallow marshes and sloughs.  Immatures in their all-white plumage, as with the bird shown to the right, are quite similar to Snowy Egrets.  Mature birds are dark bluish gray overall.  Little Blue Herons have been expanding their range to the north in recent decades, and are becoming more commonly seen in the upper Great Plains.

Habitat: Marshes and sloughs, margins of shallow ponds and lakes with emergent vegetation. 

Diet: Mostly fish and crustaceans, also frogs, tadpoles, insects, snakes, lizards, and small rodents.

Behavior: Stands still or walks slowly through the shallows, searching for prey, and grabbing it with a thrust of the neck and head when prey is spotted.  They will also feed on shore, and occasionally in grassy meadows or other upland habitat.

Breeding: Rare breeder in South Dakota.

Song: Aah-oo-ah-ah-ah by male during courtship.

Migration: Summers in the Southeastern U.S., and in scattered locations elsewhere in the U.S.  Winters along Gulf Coast, Florida, Mexico, Central America, and South America.

Similar Species: Tricolored Heron.  Immatures similar to Snowy Egret, Great Egret, and Cattle Egret.  See Identification Tips page for differentiating between the white Egrets and the immature Little Blue Heron.

Conservation Status: Has been increasing in number and increasing range northward in recent decades.

Further Information: 1) USGS Patuxent Bird Identification InfoCenter, Little Blue Heron

2) Cornell University's "All About Birds - Little Blue Heron"

3) eNature.com: Little Blue Heron

Photo Information: June 23rd, 2005 -- Assateague Island, Virginia -- Terry Sohl

Additional Photos: Click on the image chips or text links below for additional, higher-resolution Little Blue Heron photos.

 

Click on the map below for a higher-resolution view

South Dakota Status: Rare summer resident in the northeastern part of the state, casual migrant and summer resident elsewhere in the east.

 

Additional Little Blue Heron Photos
Little Blue Heron 1	Little Blue Heron 2