Very small fish make up more than 90% of the Tricolored Heron (TCH)’s diet, so it always amazes me how much energy they invest in catching these little morsels of food! ☺️

Unlike Great Blue Herons and Little Blue Herons, who are very deliberate, slow and patient foragers, the Tricoloreds are generally much more active.

I especially love the very colorful way Birds of the World describes the TCH’s various foraging behaviors 😁!!

All quotes below are from Birds of the World.

“Standing-and-waiting, walking slowly, running pursuit, followed by low crouch and quick, nearly horizontal, slanting stabs into water.”

“Active pursuit is common in two forms: loping, chases, with flapping wings, and lunging strikes, or tight pirouetting while turning in direction of open wing.”

A bit more wing action is often included, as are several other “hovering, sallying, skimming and… aerial foraging techniques”. But, you get the idea! 😉

NOTE: ‘Birds of the World is a collaborative ornithological platform that brings together deep, scholarly content from several celebrated works of ornithology . . . Birds of the World is available by subscription to anyone in the world . . . (Birds of the World).’