![]() ![]() These herons are known for their remarkable fishing skills. Of all the herons you can find in North America, the Great Blue Herons are the largest. Weight – 2-2.5 kilograms (about 4 inches) ![]() Unlike their black-crowned siblings, they like to live in solitary and are much more secretive.įound in – Central, North, and South America These herons are also called “crab-eaters” in many areas. While the Yellow-Crowned Night Herons lack the grace of the other herons, their bodies are covered with a smooth purple-grey color with long, yellow plumes at the back of their head, which lends them a unique elegance.ĭue to their diet being heavily dependent on the crustaceans, these herons are most commonly found in the coastal areas. The body of these herons is in a shade of light-grey, with their heads covered with a defined black crown. You can call them nocturnal for their tendency to stay hidden between foliage during the day and venture out to forage during evenings or nights. They live in marshes, streams, lakes, and reservoirs. Their eyes are flat and yellow in color, with a beak that is rather long and pointed at the edge. Their neck is thick, with a short head attached to it. This pattern has occurred before, so maybe it will settle in or go back to random wanderings tomorrow.The legs of the Black-crowned Night Heron are shorter than that of the rest of the herons but longer than other birds. So, maybe, there's an emerging pattern here (it seems to change every few days, so take it with salt): ERP early and SB #2 later. I also noted that the bird was reported on the east end of SB #2 on 2/10 (and I saw it there mid-day yesterday). The flamingo flew out of the fog from the north end of East River Pool and south into the fog on SB #1 at 10:35 today. Howell does indicate the feathers fade with time (just like everything else), whether on the bird or not. Howell states that pigments are taken up by feathers only as they are developing once fully formed, pigment uptake ceases (he provides good supporting evidence of this with other species). I repeated my interpretation to others and now withdraw it based on what Howell has to say. I interpreted this to mean, incorrectly, that a continuous feed of carotenoid compounds was required to keep the feathers pink. Bill Pranty, in the Nat Geo Complete Birds of North America states that flamingos were largely spared from the millinery trade because their feathers faded rapidly after plucking. The pink comes from carotenoids in the flamingo’s diet: eliminate them during molt while feathers are developing and you have a pale or white flamingo. Flamingos also take several years to reach sexual maturity, so perhaps in its first year here the SMNWR flamingo was in adult plumage, but not fully mature, and is now hitting its stride. But, our bird seems to have taken on a bit of salmon or orangey richness, so maybe yellow added to pink makes sense. The problem is that all preen glands that have been studied produce yellow, not red or pink pigments. Since nobody seems to know molt sequence, some have suggested that the pre-breeding coloration is derived from preening and substances in the preen glands. I’m not sure when flamingos breed, but it seems reasonable that now is “prior to breeding season” (and who knows with our confused bird). Howell’s Molt in North American Birds (read it and weep).įirst, molt sequence in flamingos is not well understood, but it has been suggested that the birds color up a bit prior to breeding season. It may just be a matter of lighting conditions, but it led me to do a bit of research in Steve N.G. I mentioned this to a couple of other birders, and they thought the same. On my last two sightings of the flamingo, I had the impression that the bird was more richly colored than it had been previously. ![]()
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