Tricolored Heron

Tricolored Heron (Egretta tricolor) in breeding plumage, in flight at a canal in Enmore Village, Guyana (Photo by Kester Clarke www.kesterclarke.net)
Tricolored Heron (Egretta tricolor) in breeding plumage, in flight at a canal in Enmore Village, Guyana (Photo by Kester Clarke www.kesterclarke.net)

The Tricolored Heron (Egretta tricolor) is found in the Gulf states of the United States and northern Mexico south through Central America and the Caribbean to central Brazil and Peru.

It is a medium-large, long-legged, long-necked heron with a long pointed yellowish or greyish bill with a black tip. The legs and feet are dark. Adults have a blue-grey head, neck, back and upperwings, with a white line along the neck. The belly is white.

The Tricolored Heron stalks its prey in shallow or deeper water, often running as it does so. It eats fish, crustaceans, reptiles, and insects.