Great blue heron / Kanadareiher (Ardea herodias)

Great blue heron, Bacalar. 2023-03-31 14:02:10 Yucatan

Observations

First documented observation: 2021-06-17 in Cherrywood. Most recent observation: 2023-03-31 in Yucatan.

Description

Classification: Genus Great herons (Ardea); Family Herons (Ardeidae)
General: The great blue heron (Ardea herodias) is a large wading bird in the heron family Ardeidae, common near the shores of open water and in wetlands over most of North America and Central America, as well as the Caribbean and the Galápagos Islands. It is a rare vagrant to coastal Spain, the Azores, and areas of far southern Europe. An all-white population found in south Florida and the Florida Keys is known as the great white heron. Debate exists about whether this represents a white color morph of the great blue heron, a subspecies of it, or an entirely separate species.^[2][3] The status of white individuals known to occur elsewhere in the Caribbean, and very rarely elsewhere in eastern North America, is unclear.^[3] [more]