That the Great Blue Heron has a wingspan of 6ft and is about 3 1/2 to 4 feet tall?
That there are special feathers on the Great Blue Heron, that crumble and make a powder used to clear off slime from fish by rubbing by rubbing its head and neck feathers through the powder making feathers? The slime clumps and is extracted with one claw on each foot.
The Great Blue Heron has the ability to swallow a fish many times wider than its very narrow neck.
Before two Great Blue Herons mate, they go through a kind of violent technique where sometimes the female might stab violently at the male, but then they begin their graceful courtship dance. They point their bills to the sky, sway their heads and softly wail. Then the Great Blue Herons lift their feathers and lower their heads signaling they are ready to mate.
The Great Blue Heron is one of twenty-two species of herons. It is most similar to the Florida Great White Heron. The Florida Great White Heron is a color phase of the Great Blue Heron and the two are almost identical except for their color.
The Great Blue Heron is also quite similar to the Egret. They are similar in height and they both have white heads. Both animals were near extinction at the turn of the century.
The Great Blue Heron has a definite advantage in the department of hunting over other carnivorous birds because it has much longer legs than most other herons. It can wade deeper into the water than any other heron in search for food. As a matter of fact, in the Florida Everglades Great Blue Herons wade deep into alligator holes and stand and search for a meal.
Another unique feature of the Great Blue Heron is that it has special feathers that crumble to form a powder. The bird rubs the powder onto its other feathers to clean them and make them repel water.
Written by Bryan R. and Breck F.
Compiled by the Twin Groves Virtual Wetlands Preserve Team
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