Lava heron

Butorides sundevalli

The Lava heron, also known as the Galápagos heron, is a species of heron endemic to the Galápagos Islands. The adult is slate-grey, which helps it blend in with the hardened lava. The back feathers typically have a silvery sheen and it has a short crest on its head. When breeding, the heron has a black beak and bright orange legs, but they fade to grey after the breeding season. Lava Herons are typically seen hunched over and they have a sharp alarm call. These highly territorial birds are found in intertidal zones and mangrove groves on all of the Galápagos Islands.
Golden Eye This lava heron perfectly blends with the lava rock in which it walks along hunting for food such as crabs. Butorides sundevalli,Ecuador,Geotagged,animal,avian,bird,camouflage,galapagos,heron,lava,lava heron,nature,wild,wildlife

Naming

This heron is considered a subspecies of the striated heron ''B. striata'' by some authorities , and was formerly "lumped" with this species and the green heron ''B. virescens'' as the green-backed heron ''B. striatus''.
Golden Eye Another picture of a lava heron from the Galapagos. Ecuador,Geotagged,animal,aviary,birding,birds,heron,nature,wild,wildlife

Behavior

The lava heron stalks small crabs and fish slowly before quickly spearing and eating them. They have also been known to eat the flies that gather near cacti. Unlike most herons, these birds nest in solitary pairs in either the lower branches of mangrove trees or under lava rocks. They can breed year-round, though typically from September to March, and can mate up to three times a year. These birds have no fear of humans.

References:

Some text fragments are auto parsed from Wikipedia.

Status: Least concern
EX EW CR EN VU NT LC
Taxonomy
KingdomAnimalia
DivisionChordata
ClassAves
OrderPelecaniformes
FamilyArdeidae
GenusButorides
SpeciesB. sundevalli
Photographed in
Ecuador