If you can say it, you're doing better than me.
Are-DEE-eh-day? Are-DEE-eh-die? Are-DIE-eh-day?
I have no IDEA-day.
What is it? It's the Latin word for the family, in biological terms, that contains herons, egrets, bitterns and night herons.
Like this guy, a Black-crowned Night Heron
How about we take a closer look at this clan?
The following text is by Nicole Bouglouan and is excerpted (with minor edits) from the website http://www.oiseaux-birds.com/.... But all the photos are by yours truly, Kestrel.
According to the different continents and countries, the Heron is the symbol of strength, purity, patience and long life in China, whereas in Africa, he « talks » to the Gods.
Egyptian people honour this bird as the creator of the light and Native American tribes make him the symbol of wisdom.
Considered as a lucky sign by Iroquois tribe, the Heron is finally recognized as an expert fisher/hunter.
Both qualities are common to the members of the Family Ardeidae, and in addition, they are beautiful, graceful and noble birds.
The Family Ardeidae belongs to the Ciconiiforme Order, and gathers herons, egrets, bitterns, night-herons and allies.
Day herons and egrets are medium-sized to large birds. They have long neck and legs, rather short tail and broad wings. The bill is long, dagger-shaped, allowing these birds to hunt aquatic prey, but also small mammals and reptiles.
Snowy Egret and Great Egret
According to the species, the plumage may vary from pure white to black, through more or less dark grey, blue or brown.
Bitterns and night-herons are slightly different with plumper body and shorter neck. The large bitterns (Botaurus) have cryptic plumage adapted to their behaviour and their life in reedbeds.
Black-crowned Night Heron
American Bittern
Usually, both sexes are similar in all species, with only shorter nape feathers in female, and males are slightly larger than females. The plumage is characterized by elongated feathers on nape, foreneck and breast, mainly during the breeding season. During the displays which usually take place at nest, these feathers “dance” around the body and the colour of the bare parts of the face becomes brighter.
Snowy Egret
Several kinds of displays occur at nest-site such as “stretch” display with neck and head raised upwards and elongated feathers strongly exposed, and “forwards” displays with raised wings.
The most common is the “snap” display with the bird moving the head up and down, all the feathers bristling and extended neck, often accompanied by bill-clappering.
Ardeidae also perform aerial displays with the typical “circle-flight”. Some egrets, such as the Great Egret, continually shake the long nuptial feathers making undulating movements.
Snowy Egret Courtship
These birds' nest is a platform made with sticks, often situated in trees, bushes or reeds, and first, it is rather a flimsy structure. But several large species reuse the nest year after year, and the platform becomes huge. Usually, the clutch consists of three to seven eggs, sometimes more in the small bitterns.
Incubation is performed by both sexes and lasts between 18 and 30 days in most species. It is shorter, about 14 to 20 days, in the small bitterns. Chicks are altricial and the nesting period varies from 25 to 30 days in small bitterns, to several weeks (12-13) in the large herons. They are fed by regurgitation. The first days, adults regurgitate directly into the mouth, and later, into the nest where the young take partially digested food or whole prey.
Great Egret with chicks
Black-crowned Night Heron chicks
Herons are carnivorous and feed on live prey, especially aquatic animals such as fish and amphibians, but also reptiles, small terrestrial mammals, insects, crustaceans and mollusks. There are some variations according to the species.
Great Blue Heron with crayfish
Great Egret with fish
These birds use a wide variety of techniques for feeding, related to each species. The long-legged birds frequent deeper water than short-legged. The bill shape is very important. It is used as a dagger to harpoon the prey.
Snowy Egret with fish
Herons usually stand motionless at the edge or in shallow water, and wait for prey coming close to the bill. They can use “upright” or “crouched” posture, the latest allowing better view and capture.
Green Heron
Green Heron
Other technique consists of walking slowly in shallow water or on land, and even among vegetation. They rarely use aerial techniques but some species such as the Snowy Egret, use the largest repertoire of aerial methods.
But if the different species have distinct feeding behaviours, they usually defend their foraging areas, mainly the solitary feeders. Others members of the family are gregarious and large flocks occur at food sources.
Snowy Egrets and Great Egrets
Great Egrets and a Great Blue Heron (see it?)
These birds feed mostly by day in the early morning and in the late afternoon, but some of them such as the Grey Heron, also forage at night. Night-herons are crepuscular (active at twilight).
Ardeidae are gregarious birds, forming mixed communal roosts in tall trees or reedbeds. They also nest in colonies, often with other birds’ species, and some colonies may reach great numbers, several hundreds of birds. These large numbers allow the birds to protect themselves against predators.
Roosting Great Egrets
Most species perform seasonal migrations after dispersive post-breeding movements, mainly by the young birds. They usually migrate by night, individually or in small groups in linear formation.
Ardeidae perform strong, but slow and heavy flight. They use flapping flight and are able to cover great distances. In spite of their heavy flight, they can land on water and take off again easily, thanks to the broad large wings.
Great Egret in flight
Green Heron in flight
Great Egret in flight
Ardeidae have mainly tropical distribution, and they are more or less widespread all over the world, except in poles.
These birds live in all kinds of wetlands, from open marshlands with shallow water to coastal areas, through tidal flats and mangroves. Some species are able to live on high plateaux, but the most part of the members of this family avoid mountainous areas and prefer lower regions. According to the species and the range, they may frequent freshwater wetlands or salt waters in coastal areas.
Great Blue Heron
Black-crowned Night Heron
Snowy Egret Portrait
Great Blue Heron
Cattle Egret
Black-crowned Night Heron and its distinctive thin white head plume
Green Heron
Great Blue Heron
I hope you've enjoyed getting to know the family Ardeidae a bit better. There are other members of the family not pictured and I hope that those of you who have photos of the Yellow-crowned Night Heron, Reddish Egret, Little Blue Heron, etc. will share them. I was also short on American Bittern and Cattle Egret photos for this diary, so please share them if you've got them as well.
Enjoy your weekend and special note to Barack Obama who is probably reading this between rounds on that Florida golf course: Happy President's Day, sir!