Green-backed Heron

Butorides virescens

The green-backed heron is a small, crow-like wading bird. Adults have:

• A reddish- or chestnut-colored head and neck.
• Glossy, blackish-green crown feathers that are sometimes raised into a shaggy crest.
• Grayish-green back and flight feathers. The wing feathers are edged in buff.
• Brownish-gray underparts.
• A spear-like bill that is yellow at the base and brownish-black at the tip.
• Chin, throat and upper breast are white with blackish stripes.
• Yellow legs and feet. The male's legs turn orange when breeding.

The green-backed heron grows to about 18 inches with a wingspan of about 26 inches.

Where does the green-backed heron live?

Green-backed herons can be found from spring through fall in tidal marshes and wetlands throughout the Chesapeake Bay and its tributaries. They also live along lakes, ponds and wooded streams.

What does the green-backed heron eat?

Green-backed herons feed mostly on small fish, amphibians, crustaceans and aquatic insects.

• When hunting for food, a green-backed heron stands at the edge of the water with its neck folded back on its shoulders. It then quickly lunges for prey with its spear-like bill.
• Green-backed herons will also drop twigs or leaves into the water to attract fish to the surface.

What does the green-backed heron sound like?

Green-backed herons are very vocal birds. Their calls include a series of kucks or a loud kyow, skow or skuck.

Where does the green-backed heron nest and breed?

Green-backed herons are considered semi-colonial because they create nests both solitarily and with other herons and egrets. They nest in shrubs and small trees, as well as on duck blinds throughout the Chesapeake Bay area.

• Green-backed herons usually begin arriving at their breeding areas in early April.
• During courtship, the male heron extends his neck feathers and swells his throat in a sharp call, then hops from one foot to the other in front of a female.
• The female heron lays clutches of three to six eggs twice per year.
• Both parents incubate the eggs for about 23 days. Newly hatched green-backed heron young are covered in yellow down and stay in the nest until they are able to fly.
• Fledging occurs at about 30 days, and most birds depart the breeding colonies from mid-July through mid-October. Immature green-backed herons are brown above with brown and white streaks below.

Other facts about the green-backed heron:

• When alarmed, a green-backed heron may stretch its neck, raise its crest and jerk its tail. It will also call a piercing skew.
• In flight, green-backed herons hold their neck in an S-shaped position.