Characteristics
 The tricolored heron is about 22 inches in length and has a wingspan of about 3 feet. It has slate blue feathers on most of its body, except for a white chest and belly and a rust-colored neck. It has long yellow legs; a white stripe that runs up its neck; and a long, pointed yellow bill that turns blue during breeding season. Males and females look alike.
Range
 The tricolored heron breeds in southeastern New Mexico and Texas, on the Gulf Coast and on the Atlantic Coast from Florida to New Jersey. It winters from Texas and New Jersey south to northern South America and the West Indies.
Habitat
 The tricolored heron can be found in marshes, swamps, bayous, mudflats, lagoons and coastal ponds.
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Diet
 The tricolored heron wades in shallow water in search of prey. Most of its diet is made up of fish, but it also eats amphibians, insects, and crustaceans. Sometimes the tri-colored heron strides or runs through the water with its wings stretched out in an attempt to flush out prey.
Life Cycle
 The nesting
territory is selected by the male. The female lays three to
four eggs on a nest of sticks placed on a bed of reeds or in a tree. Both
the male and female build the nest and incubate the eggs. The chicks hatch
in about three weeks. Both parents care for the chicks and feed them regurgitated
food. The chicks fledge in a little over a month.
Behavior
 The tricolored heron is also known as
the Louisiana heron. It sometimes wades in deep water when looking for
food, and all that can be seen of it above the water is its body.
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