Identification Photos: Little Blue Heron, Egretta caerulea: The Little Blue Heron is a member of the Ardeidae Family which are known in Mexico as garcetas. Little Blue Heron often lives near salt water but it is mainly an inland bird preferring fresh water such as ponds, lakes, marshes, swamps, lagoons, and flooded grasslands.

The Little Blue Heron is a small, dark bird that averages just under one pound, with lengths of 25 to 29 inches, and wingspans of up to 40 inches. The sexes are similar in appearance but the young look very different from the adults.

The adult Little Blue Heron has a purple-maroon head and neck and the rest of the plumage is slate gray. It has a long neck that is usually held in an S-shaped curve while at rest or in flight. The Little Blue Heron has a long, slender dark gray bill with a black tip that curves slightly downward. The eyes are yellow and the legs and feet are dark. In contrast, the young have all-white plumage, a blue bill with a black tip, and dull green legs. The young remain white through the first summer, fall, and winter, and they molt in February into the dark colored adult. This unique coloration behavior is believed to provide the juveniles with a greater chance of survival since they join groups of the all white Snowy Egret, allowing them to integrate and giving themselves enhanced fishing and greater protection.

The Little Blue Heron is a year-round resident of all coastal Mexico locations; it does undergo a limited migration and can be found in all parts of the southern Mexican mainland during winter months.

The Little Blue Heron is a carnivore, feeding during daylight hours, on fish, frogs, lizards, snakes, turtles, and crustaceans such as crabs, crayfish, and shrimp. It is not an energetic bird and is usually seen walking slowly and daintily along the edge of shallow water bodies. It hunts alone and has a reported success rate in excess of 50 percent.

The flight of the Little Blue Heron is strong and graceful with quick wing strokes, heads down, and legs extended to the rear. Normally silent, the Little Blue Heron's sounds in fight resemble the screams of parrots.

The Little Blue Heron nests in small or large colonies with nests being built from sticks 10 to 15 feet above the ground or water level. The females lay 3 to 5 pale, blue-green eggs in April at a rate of one every other day. Both sexes incubate the eggs for 22 to 24 days. The young remain more or less helpless for about three weeks, with continual feeding by the parents. At 30 days the chicks begin to venture away from the nest area and they become independent in about 50 days. They reach sexual maturity in one year.

The Little Blue Heron has an average life span of 7 years in the wild. The adult can be confused with the Green Heron, Butorides virescens (smaller with yellow or orange legs). The juvenile can be easily confused with young Snowy Egrets, Egretta thula (all black bills).

From a conservation perspective, the Little Blue Heron havs a limited impact on humans and a wide global distribution. affording them “least concern” status. However, it is protected by the United States Bird Migratory Act with populations decreasing. The major problem facing this bird is the loss of wetland habitat as it requires clean, undisturbed wetland for feeding and breeding.

Little Blue Heron, Egretta caerulea: Juvenile. A year-round resident of the Los Cabos area, Baja California Sur, Mexico. Age, less than one year. Photo taken in December 2007 in the San Jose River Lagoon. Photo courtesy of Carol Snow. Description courtesy of John Snow.