The Great Blue Heron (Ardea herodias) is the largest and most widespread heron in North America. They can adapt to almost any wetland habitats. They locate their food by sight and can hunt day and night. They are socially monogamous within a single breeding season and usually choose new mates each year. They breed in colonies.
大藍鷺是北美最大和分佈最廣的鷺。牠幾乎可以適應任何濕地棲息地。牠用視覺來覓食，晝夜都可以獵食。牠們在同一個繁殖季節內是一夫一妻制，但是每年都會選擇新的伴侶。牠們通常在族群中繁殖。
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Notes 筆記
- The Great Blue Heron is the largest and most widespread heron in North America. It has head-to-tail length of 91–137 cm (36–54 in), a wingspan of 167–201 cm (66–79 in), a height of 115–138 cm (45–54 in), and a weight of 1.82–3.6 kg (4.0–7.9 lb).
- The great blue heron is found throughout most of North America, as far north as Alaska in the summer. In winter, the range extends south through Florida, Mexico, and the Caribbean to South America.
- The great blue heron can adapt to almost any wetland habitats such as fresh and saltwater marshes, mangrove swamps, flooded meadows, lake edges, or shorelines.
- Great Blue Herons feed on fish, shrimp, crabs, aquatic insects, rodents, and other small mammals, amphibians, reptiles, and birds.
- Great Blue Herons locate their food by sight and can hunt day and night. When foraging, they stand silently along the shore, waiting for prey to come by, then they stab the prey with a quick lunge of the bill. They will also stalk prey slowly and deliberately. They usually swallow prey whole. They have been known to choke on prey that is too large.
- Great Blue Herons usually breed in colonies, in trees close to lakes or other wetlands. The size of these colonies may be large, ranging between five and 500 nests per colony, with an average around 160 nests per colony. Usually, colonies include only great blue herons, though sometimes they nest alongside other species of herons. These groups are called a heronry.
- Although nests are often reused for many years and herons are socially monogamous within a single breeding season, individuals usually choose new mates each year.
- The female lays 3 to 6 pale blue eggs, then both parents incubate them for 25-29 days (4 weeks) until the young hatch. The parents bring food to young at the nest for two months before the young can fly and continue feeding the birds for a few weeks after fledging the nest.
- Northern populations east of Rockies are migratory, some going to Caribbean, Central America, or northern South America. Migrates by day or night, alone or in flocks. Some wander well to the north in late summer. Populations along Pacific Coast may be permanent residents, even as far north as southeastern Alaska.
- 大藍鷺是北美最大和分佈最廣的鷺。 它的頭尾長91-137公分，翼展167-201公分，高115-138公分，重1.82–3.6公斤。
- 在整個北美地區都可以看得到大藍鷺，夏天北至阿拉斯加，冬天向南穿過佛羅里達，墨西哥和加勒比海地區直至南美。
- 大藍鷺幾乎可以適應任何濕地棲息地，例如淡水和鹹水沼澤，紅樹林沼澤，河漫灘草甸，湖邊或海岸線。
- 大藍鷺以魚，蝦，螃蟹，水生昆蟲，囓齒動物和其他小型哺乳動物，兩棲動物，爬行動物和鳥類為食。
- 大藍鷺藉著牠好的視覺來覓食，晝夜都可以獵食。 覓食時，牠們靜靜地站在岸邊，等待獵物到來，然後用喙子迅速刺入獵物，或慢慢不慌不忙地跟踪獵物。牠們通常會吞食整個獵物，有時會被太大的獵物噎到。
- 大藍鷺通常在族群中繁殖，靠近湖泊或其他濕地的樹木中。這些族群可能很大，可介於5到500個巢之間，每個族群平均約160個巢。通常這些族群只有大藍鷺，但是有時它們會與其他種類的鷺一起築巢，被稱為鹭巢。
- 雖然牠們的巢通常可重複使用很多年，鷺在同一個繁殖季節內是一夫一妻制，但是每年都會選擇新的伴侶。
- 雌鷺通常產3至6個淡藍色的卵，然後父母雙方孵化25-29天（4週），直到幼鷺孵化。 父母在窩中餵雛鳥兩個月，然後雛鳥才能飛行，父母並在出巢後繼續餵食幾週。
- 落基山脈以東的北部大藍鷺是候鳥，有些往加勒比海、中美洲或南美洲北部遷徙。 晝或夜，單獨或成群遷徙。 有些在夏末向北遷。 太平洋沿岸甚至遠至阿拉斯加東南部的可能是留鳥。
References 參考資料
- Wikipedia: Great blue heron
- Audubon: Great Blue Heron
- All About Birds: Great Blue Heron
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