View the Great Blue Heron photography of Bruce Dayton

Great Blue Heron
Ardea herodias

Large, gray bird
Long legs
Long, "S"-shaped neck
Long, thick bill
White crown stripe
Black plume extending from behind eye to off the back of the neck
Shaggy feathers on neck and back
Bluish gray back, wings, and belly
Reddish or gray neck
White morph all white with pale legs, yellow bill
Size: 38-54 in
Wingspan: 66-79 in
Weight: 74-89 ounces
Sexes look alike

Syllables: great blue her-on
Pronunciation: gret blu heh rEn



Great Blue Heron
1-1	GBHr_10x08_002223	8x10 Print	$10.00
1-2	GBHr_14x11_002223	11x14 Print	$25.00


Great Blue Heron
2-1	GBHr_10x08_008824	8x10 Print	$10.00
2-2	GBHr_14x11_008824	11x14 Print	$25.00
2-3	GBHr_20x16_008824	16x20 Print	$55.00


Great Blue Heron
3-1	GBHr_10x08_015734	8x10 Print	$10.00
3-2	GBHr_14x11_015734	11x14 Print	$25.00


Great Blue Heron
4-1	GBHr_10x08_017680	8x10 Print	$10.00
4-2	GBHr_14x11_017680	11x14 Print	$25.00


Great Blue Heron
5-1	GBHr_10x08_017711	8x10 Print	$10.00
5-2	GBHr_14x11_017711	11x14 Print	$25.00


Great Blue Heron
6-1	GBHr_10x08_018946	8x10 Print	$10.00
6-2	GBHr_14x11_018946	11x14 Print	$25.00


Great Blue Heron
7-1	GBHr_08x10_009190	8x10 Print	$15.00
7-2	GBHr_11x14_009190	11x14 Print	$30.00
7-3	GBHr_16x20_009190	16x20 Print	$60.00


Great Blue Heron
8-1	GBHr_08x10_009192	8x10 Print	$10.00
8-2	GBHr_11x14_009192	11x14 Print	$25.00


Great Blue Heron
9-1	GBHr_08x10_009687	8x10 Print	$10.00
9-2	GBHr_11x14_009687	11x14 Print	$25.00
9-3	GBHr_16x20_009687	16x20 Print	$55.00


Great Blue Heron
10-1	GBHr_08x10_009824	8x10 Print	$10.00
10-2	GBHr_11x14_009824	11x14 Print	$25.00
10-3	GBHr_16x20_009824	16x20 Print	$55.00


Great Blue Heron
11-1	GBHr_08x10_010817	8x10 Print	$10.00
11-2	GBHr_11x14_010817	11x14 Print	$25.00


Great Blue Heron
12-1	GBHr_08x10_012379	8x10 Print	$10.00
12-2	GBHr_11x14_012379	11x14 Print	$25.00
12-3	GBHr_16x20_012379	16x20 Print	$55.00
v

Great Blue Heron
13-1	GBHr_08x10_016924	8x10 Print	$10.00
13-2	GBHr_11x14_016924	11x14 Print	$25.00
13-3	GBHr_16x20_016924	16x20 Print	$55.00


Great Blue Heron
14-1	GBHr_08x10_019006	8x10 Print	$10.00
14-2	GBHr_11x14_019006	11x14 Print	$25.00
14-3	GBHr_16x20_019006	16x20 Print	$55.00


Great Blue Heron
15-1	GBHr_08x10_020322	8x10 Print	$10.00
15-2	GBHr_11x14_020322	11x14 Print	$25.00

NOTES

1. Price (See above)

2. Price is for print only. Price does not taxes**.

3. At this time framing is not an option available online.

4. All sales in US dollars.

5. New York State residents must include sales tax**

** Tax will be applied to orders shipped to New York State.

Discount on all prints for
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The Great Blue Heron, Ardea herodias
is a wading bird of the heron family Ardeidae, common all over North and Central America as well as the West Indies and the Galápagos A1pagos_Islands>, except in deserts and high mountains where there is no water for it to wade in. It is very similar to the European Grey Heron. This is the largest North American heron.

This species usually breeds in colonies in trees close to lakes or other wetlands, often with other species of herons. It builds a bulky stick nest. The female lays 3 to 5 pale blue eggs. Both parents feed the young at the nest by regurgitating food.

It feeds in shallow water or at the water's edge and spears fish or frogs with its long, sharp bill. Its varied diet can also include insects, snakes, turtles, rodents and small birds. It will also raid goldfish ponds in back yards.

The Great Blue stands four feet tall and has a seven-foot wingspan. They have a long yellow bill. Adults have blue-gray wings and back and a white head with a black cap and a long black plume. In flight, the long neck is held in an S-shape with the long legs trailing behind. This bird flies with strong deliberate wing beats.

Birds east of the Rockies in the northern part of their range are migratory and winter in Central America or northern South America. In the southern United States and on the Pacific coast, they are year-round residents.

The call of this bird is a harsh croak.

The Great White Heron, which was long thought to be a separate species, is a white morph of Great Blue, which occurs, in southern Florida. It is mainly found near salt water. Wurdemann's Heron is an intermediate morph, in which only the head is white.

The Great White Egret, Ardea alba, also occurs in North America, but is a separate species.

The Great Blue Heron

Scientific classification

         Kingdom: Animalia
         Phylum:   Chordata
         Class:   Aves
         Order:   Ciconiiformes
         Family:   Ardeidae
         Genus:   Ardea
         Species:   A. herodias

Binomial name
Ardea herodias Linnaeus