Weekly Puzzler Answer #182

Hello, and happy Saturday!

Did you recognize the handsome bird from last week’s puzzler? Here is another photo of it:

It is a tricolored heron and both photos from the puzzler page were from a breeding adult. Breeding adults have small plumes of white feathers on the back of their heads.

Tricolored herons (sometimes called Louisiana herons) are 26 inches long with a wingspan of a little over 37 inches. They can be found in estuaries, salt marshes, lagoons, swamps, freshwater marshes and lake edges in Florida and along the Gulf coast. They are different from the other herons in that they have a white belly, and a white stripe down the center of their necks in front, as seen here:

Tricolored herons have an interesting way of hunting–they can often be seen chasing after fish, running through the shallow water, stalking prey in a crouching position, and like a reddish egret, will sometimes hold its wings up to create shade as a way to trick fish into coming closer. When in reach, they stab fish with their dagger-like bill.

Here are some birds found in similar areas that could be confused with the tricolored heron. Notice the differences:

Little blue heron:

Great blue heron:

Reddish egret:

Here is a green heron, which as you can see does have white on its belly, but it is smaller (18inches instead of 26 inches long)

Have you seen any of these birds or gotten to watch them hunt? Are you ready for another puzzler? If you’ve read this post, you likely will do well at guessing the next puzzler–another featuring a bird common to Florida.