Bare-throated Tiger-Heron
Where and when to see the Bare-throated Tiger-Heron
DraftOn the Yucatán Peninsula
It lives in mangroves, marshes and along river and lagoon banks, sometimes in fairly open places. Look for it standing still on the bank or on a low branch over the water.
Where it’s reported most
- CelestúnCelestún, Yucatán
- Kabah Ecological ParkBenito Juárez, Quintana Roo
- HampololCampeche, Campeche
- HolboxLázaro Cárdenas, Quintana Roo
When
All year
Reported all year.
Reports relative to effort
- January: 87%
- February: 72%
- March: 71%
- April: 78%
- May: 100%
- June: 98%
- July: 93%
- August: 86%
- September: 83%
- October: 80%
- November: 81%
- December: 75%
Data: eBird and other datasets via GBIF.org (CC BY 4.0), 2015–2026 · Base map: Natural Earth
Stands motionless for long periods along mangrove channels, rivers and marsh edges, waiting for fish and frogs. Its call is a deep, roaring croak, often given after dark.
- Identification
- A big, thick-necked heron with a patch of bare yellow to orange skin on the throat, a black crown, a grey face, finely barred dark upperparts and a rusty belly. Young birds are barred all over.
- Voice
- A hoarse “howk-howk-howk” and, from males, a deep roar.
What the photo doesn’t show
DraftTiger stripes
The “tiger” in its name comes from the young birds, which are boldly barred black and rust. Adults are greyer and much more finely barred. 1,2
Still, but watching
It often stands motionless in the open for long spells, waiting for fish, frogs or crabs to come within reach. Besides fish and frogs, it also catches rodents on land. 2,3
A roar at sunset
At sunset males give a deep roar. As they call, the bill opens wide and ripples run down the bare throat. 3
A nest of its own
It doesn’t nest in colonies like many herons, but on its own, on a small, flat platform of sticks in a tree. 3
Sources
- eBird: Bare-throated Tiger-Heron (opens in a new tab)
- Birds of the World (Cornell Lab): Bare-throated Tiger-Heron (opens in a new tab)
- Wikipedia: Bare-throated tiger heron (opens in a new tab)
- IUCN Red List category, via GBIF: Tigrisoma mexicanum (opens in a new tab)
- DOF, 14/11/2019: NOM-059-SEMARNAT-2010, Anexo III (opens in a new tab)
Map and months: 3,703 records from 2015–2026 from eBird, Inventario de aves y mamíferos en humedales de Laguna de Términos y Pantanos de Centla en Tabasco y Campeche, and others, via GBIF.org (CC BY 4.0), in 0.1° squares (about 10 km). eBird: doi.org/10.15468/aomfnb.
Months: the species’ records ÷ all bird records that month, scaled to the busiest month. It allows for birding effort; it is not the chance of seeing it. A blank square: few or no reports, not necessarily absent.
Tell us where, or ask how to find one.
[email protected]