Birds of a feather . . .sort of

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IMG_2862As I turned a corner on a recent walk, I was surprised by this juvenile Yellow-crowned Night Heron above, sitting on a branch so close I could almost imagine reaching out to touch him!

We have two different Night Herons here in southeast Florida, the Black-crowned and the Yellow-crowned Night Herons. The juveniles can be difficult to tell apart, but their bills and plumage provide clues, even at this age. Night Herons can be hard to spot in the daytime – they’re good at hiding in the trees or standing quietly at the water’s edge, coming out at dusk to forage. IMG_2876A few minutes later, I crossed paths with a completely different member of the Heron Family. This sleek adult Green Heron was sitting right out in the open on the railing (as they often do). Its distinctive coloring and small size distinguish it from other Herons. The Green Heron is shorter and more ‘squat’ – only about the size of a crow – but always manages to look handsome – very photogenic!

If you’re wondering just “What is a heron, anyway?”, check out this post at 10,000 Birds, an awesome online site.

FYI . . .A wonderful resource for comparing similar birds, such as these, can be found on All About Birds!

17 thoughts on “Birds of a feather . . .sort of”

  1. Beautiful shots. I see Green Herons fairly regularly here in Northern Virginia, but have never seen a Yellow-crowned Night Heron (though once a year or so I am lucky enough to see a Black-crowned Night Heron). In my mind, these little herons have much more personality than their larger brothers, the Great Blue Heron, and are equally deserving of being called “great.:

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  4. These are gorgeous pictures Carol! I’ll be going to Florida as vacation to the West Coast and I might extend my itinerary to the parks in your area if they are open at the end of September. Thanks for the post. 🙂

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