‘Strikingly slender’, according to Audubon, the Tricolored Heron is an active lone forager in marshes, swamps and other bodies of shallow water. Very common in the Southeast United States, it’s one of our most abundant year-round Florida wetland birds.
Same lovely bird, but in breeding plumage this time! Still known to some as the Louisiana Heron, the Tricolored has a very long, dagger-like bill (All About Birds) with which it grabs its prey. Check out more cool stuff about Tricolored Herons on eBird!!
Birder's Journey 
The prettiest Heron… my opinion anyway 😃
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They really are beauties, aren’t they, Ted? Especially in their breeding plumage – so showy!
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Add to that a bit on the dramatic side too 😃😃
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Louisiana Heron, I like that!
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I guess they were all previously called Louisiana Herons. Then they change the name officially but some people still use that name. Maybe they still call them Louisiana herons in Louisiana?!
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Great captures of this beauty, I especially like your image with the bird in the foliage.
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Thanks so much, Ellen. Yes that one in the foliage was clearly getting ready to build a nest – or working on it already, deep down among the branches.
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Love these images. 😊
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Thank you, Irene! They’re pretty good at posing, I’d say. Showing off their best side 😉
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Both are very attractive portraits, Carol. 🙂
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Much appreciated, Steve. These pictures were taken a week apart, yet the Heron in breeding colors looks so much more flashy. Maybe the first one was too young for mating this year?
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Excellent shots, Carol! 🙂
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Thank you, HJ! I hope you’re enjoying a wonderful Mother’s Day 🌺
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Lovely captures BJ, the first facial profile shot reminds me a little of our White-faced Heron, also a lone hunter.
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Thanks, AB! Always enjoy hearing about the similarities between birds here and your birds Down Under! ☺️
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Excellent images!!
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Great models! ☺️Thanks, Anita.
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Lovely!
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Thank you, Kathy!
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We don’t get the tri-colored heron on the west coast, and whenever I’m in their territory, I am enthralled with their beauty and behavior. Your photos did a great job of highlighting their loveliness, BJ, and how wonderful that we get to see the breeding plumage here, too.
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Your kind and thoughtful response is so much appreciated, Jet, as always. Thank you so much!
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Gosh that is a long bill. Your photos capture not only their beauty but something of their intensity too!
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I recall reading once that the tri-colored Heron’s bill is longer in proportion to his head/face than any other bird in the heron/egret family.
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I wonder if the difference in bill size is reflected in different prey items that they are more (or less) capable of catching!
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That’s an interesting thought. Funny enough, we often chuckle at the fact that these Tricolored Herons work so hard, but usually wind up grabbing the tiniest little fish 😅
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🙂
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