Tricolored Heron
- Family
- Ardeidae
- Conservation status (IUCN)
- Least Concern 4
Where and when to see the Tricolored Heron
DraftOn the Yucatán Peninsula
It feeds in mangroves, coastal lagoons, tidal flats and marsh edges around the peninsula. Look for a slim, dark heron wading in the shallows, its white belly showing clearly.
Where it’s reported most
- El Corchito ReserveProgreso, Yucatán
- CelestúnCelestún, Yucatán
- Kabah Ecological ParkBenito Juárez, Quintana Roo
- HolboxLázaro Cárdenas, Quintana Roo
When
All year
Reported all year.
Reports relative to effort
- January: 79%
- February: 72%
- March: 60%
- April: 53%
- May: 60%
- June: 68%
- July: 76%
- August: 91%
- September: 100%
- October: 89%
- November: 86%
- December: 74%
Data: eBird and other datasets via GBIF.org (CC BY 4.0), 2015–2026 · Base map: Natural Earth
Field notes
- Identification
- A slim, long-necked, long-billed heron, slate blue above with a white belly and a white stripe up the front of the neck. Young birds have rusty brown on the neck and wings.
- Voice
- Guttural croaks and squawks, mostly at colonies.
What the photo doesn’t show
DraftBlue for the season
In breeding season the bare skin at the base of its bill turns from yellowish to bright blue. It also grows long blue plumes on the head and neck, and buff ones on the back. 1,2
A solo fisher
It feeds alone more than other herons, often belly-deep in the water, and chases others away from its small feeding patch. 1,2,3
Made for the coast
It is more tied to the coast than almost any other North American heron; only the Reddish Egret is more of a saltwater bird. Its diet is almost all small fish. 2,3
Once the Louisiana Heron
Formerly called the Louisiana Heron, it was probably North America’s most numerous heron until the Cattle Egret arrived in the 1950s. Its North American numbers now appear to be falling. 3
Sources
- Audubon Guide to North American Birds: Tricolored Heron (opens in a new tab)
- Wikipedia: Tricolored heron (opens in a new tab)
- Birds of the World (Cornell Lab): Tricolored Heron (opens in a new tab)
- IUCN Red List category, via GBIF: Egretta tricolor (opens in a new tab)
Map and months: 10,611 records from 2015–2026 from eBird, iNaturalist, 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.
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