Striated Heron

Butorides striata

The striated heron is a small heron. Their breeding habitat is small wetlands in the Old World tropics from west Africa to Japan and Australia, and in South America. Vagrants have been recorded on oceanic islands, such as Chuuk and Yap in the Federated States of Micronesia, the Marianas and Palau.
Striated_Heron Butorides striata,Geotagged,India,Striated heron,Winter

Appearance

Adults have a blue-grey back and wings, white underparts, a black cap, a dark line extends from the bill to under the eye and short yellow legs. Juveniles are browner above and streaked below.
Striated heron - Butorides striata Butorides striata,Fall,Geotagged,Indonesia,Striated heron

Naming

This bird was long considered to be conspecific with the closely related North American species, the green heron, which is now usually separated as "B. virescens", as well as the lava heron of the Galápagos Islands; collectively they were called "green-backed herons".
Striated Heron By the river into Laguna Negra Butorides striata,Laguna Negra,San José del Guaviare,Striated heron

Status

Widespread and generally common, the Striated Heron is classified as a Species of Least Concern by the IUCN; this holds true whether the lava heron is included in "B. striata" or not.
Striated Heron Searching for breakfast Australia,Butorides striata,Geotagged,Striated heron,Summer

Behavior

These birds stand still at the water's edge and wait to ambush prey, but are easier to see than many small heron species. They mainly eat small fish, frogs and aquatic insects. They sometimes use bait, dropping a feather or leaf carefully on the water surface and picking fish that come to investigate.

An adult bird was once observed in a peculiar and mysterious behavior: while on the nest, it would grab a stick in its bill and make a rapid back-and-forth motion with the head, like a sewing machine's needle. The significance of this behavior is completely unknown: While such movements occur in many other nesting birds where they seem to compact the nest, move the eggs, or dislodge parasites, neither seems to have been the case in this particular striated heron.

Young birds will give a display when they feel threatened, by stretching out their necks and pointing the bill skywards. How far this would deter predators is not known.
Striated Heron This was a sub adult striated heron that was relaxing on the rocks next to the ocean in the Galapagos islands. Butorides striata,Ecuador,Geotagged,Striated Heron,animal,bird,blue,galapagos,heron,iguana,island,lizard,nature,red,rock,wild,wildlife

Reproduction

They nest in a platform of sticks measuring between 20–40 cm long and 0.5–5 mm thick. The entire nest measures some 40–50 cm wide and 8–10 cm high outside, with an inner depression 20 cm wide and 4–5 cm deep. It is usually built in not too high off the ground in shrubs or trees but sometimes in sheltered locations on the ground, and often near water. The clutch is 2–5 eggs, which are pale blue and measure around 36 by 28 mm.

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