Tri-Colour
Heron
(Egretta tricolor)
Photographed in the wild,
Naples, Florida Apr 2008
Dominican Republic Sep 2016
The Tri-coloured Heron is a medium-size named for
its three main colors: bluish-gray, purple and white. Its head, back and wings are a
dark bluish-gray. The back of the neck is purple. The belly is white. The
Tri-color also has a narrow white streak with delicate rust-coloured
markings down the front of its neck. The eyes are bright red. The legs are pale
green or yellow.
During breeding season, the Tri-color gets
a white pony tail plume on the back
of its head and its legs turn bright red. They have a rather long and pointed bill that, in the
non-breeding season, is yellow with a black tip. In the breeding season, the
yellow turns to blue.
The Tri-coloured walks through shallow water in a jerky fashion, crouching
and darting as it moves along. Sometimes it raises its wings to cast a shadow
on the water so it can spot its prey.
The
Tri-color is very vocal if disturbed while fishing. It flies away abruptly
and gives out a loud call that falls somewhere between a squawk and a bark.
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