(Butorides virescens)
16 - 22 inches

photograph © Walker Golder

Status: No special status in North Carolina.

Identification: This small heron has a dark greenish back and wings with brownish-gray underparts. The neck and head are maroon, and the crest is greenish black. Legs and feet are yellowish to yellow-green but turn bright orange during courtship. The upper mandible is brownish black and the lower is yellowish. The lores are greenish yellow, but turn blue-black during courtship.

Nesting Habitat: Green Herons can be found nesting in a variety of habitats including coastal shrub thickets, upland and swamp forests, marshes and even in suburbs where habitat is suitable.

Breeding Biology: This species is less colonial than other wading birds and may nest singly or in small colonies. Green Herons usually initiate nesting activities in April, that can continue until July. Green Herons build small platform nests of interwoven stems and twigs. Nests are elevated and may be over water or far from water. The female lays four to five pale greenish-blue eggs at two-day intervals, although up to seven eggs have been recorded. Both parents participate in incubation, which lasts 21 to 25 days, and nestlings begin to fly at 34 to 35 days of age. Green Herons occupy colony sites in North Carolina from April through August.

Food: Food consists primarily of fish and insects. Other food items include crustaceans, mollusks, other invertebrates, amphibians and reptiles.

State Nesting Population: unknown.

Major Threats: Loss of nesting habitat.

Waterbirds:
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Last Revision 5/21/98