Tricolored HeronTricolored Heron -- South Dakota Birds
| Length: 25 inches | Wingspan: 36 inches | Seasonality: Summer (rare) |
| ID Keys: Dark bluish-gray upperparts, white underparts with white foreneck, long yellow bill with dark tip, reddish-brown stripes on front of upper neck. | ||
Tricolored Heron
Egretta tricolor
The Tricolored Heron is a small, slender heron normally found along the coastlines in the southeastern United States. The term "tricolored" refers to the dark bluish upperparts, the white underparts, and the reddish brown stripes found on its upper neck. Tricolored Herons are normally found near salt water, especially during the breeding season, but occasionally are found inland (rarely in South Dakota). It was formerly called the Louisiana Heron.
Habitat: Generally found near salt water during breeding season, with small populations found on scattered inland lakes, reservoirs, rivers, marshes, and sloughs.
Diet: Mostly fish. Also crustaceans, frogs and tadpoles, salamanders, lizards, and large insects.
Breeding: Non-breeder in South Dakota.
Song: Short grunts and groans by breeding males.
Migrations: Permanent resident along Gulf Coast, parts of the East Coast. Some move south in the fall, as far as Central America.
Similar Species: Little Blue Heron
Status: Has been increasing range northward, despite some scattered local declines.
Further Information: 1) USGS Patuxent Bird Identification InfoCenter, Tricolored Heron
2) Cornell Lab of Ornithology - Tricolored Heron
3) eNature.com: -- Tricolored Heron
Photo Information: Out-of-state photo -- June 23rd, 2005 -- Chincoteague, Virginia -- Terry Sohl
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This page was last edited on 02/03/08
