Habitat
The little blue heron makes its home in freshwater
swamps, lagoons, coastal thickets, and islands.
Diet
The little blue heron eats fish,
crustaceans,
amphibians,
insects, and reptiles. It stands in shallow water and waits for its prey to go by, and then it grabs its prey with its pointed bill.
Life Cycle
The male usually chooses the nesting territory before selecting a female. The male courts the female by stretching his neck out and pointing his bill up in the air. He then crouches and may snap his bill, sway his neck from side-to-side, and vocalize. The female may approach him aggressively at first, but soon the pair groom each other and twine their necks together. The male then gathers twigs for the nest and presents them to the female who builds the nest. The nest is made of sticks, reeds and grass. The nest is usually built a few feet above the ground in a tree or a bush, although sometimes it is built on reeds or on the ground. The female lays three to five eggs. The eggs hatch in about three weeks. Both parents incubate the eggs. Chicks are fed regurgitated food by both parents. They fledge when they are 35 and 40 days old. The little blue heron has a lifespan of up to seven years.
Behavior
The little blue heron often follows farmers as they are plowing fields and then grabs the insects that are disturbed by the plow.
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