(Listen to Green Heron calls - click here)
Green Heron:
The green heron is relatively small; adult body is about 17 inches.
Adults have a glossy, greenish-black cap, a greenish back and wings that are grey-black grading into green or blue, a chestnut neck with a white line down the front, grey underparts and short yellow legs. The bill is dark with a long, sharp point.
The green heron's call is a loud and sudden kyow; it also makes a series of more subdued kuk calls.
The species is most conspicuous during dusk and dawn, and if anything these birds are nocturnal rather than diurnal, preferring to retreat to sheltered areas in daytime.
Green herons are intolerant of other birds when feeding and are not seen to forage in groups. They typically stand still on shore or in shallow water or perch upon branches and await prey.
Sometimes they drop food, insects, or other small objects on the water's surface to attract fish, making them one of the few known tool-using species.
They are able to hover briefly to catch prey.
