Boat-billed Heron vs Great Blue Heron

Cochlearius cochlearius comparé à Ardea herodias

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Side-by-Side Comparison

Attribut Boat-billed Heron Great Blue Heron
Nom scientifique Cochlearius cochlearius Ardea herodias
Ordre Pelecaniformes Pelecaniformes
Famille Ardeidae Ardeidae
Statut de conservation Least Concern Least Concern
Longueur 117,0 cm (46.1 in)
Envergure 52,9 cm (20.8 in) 183,0 cm (72.0 in)
Poids 644,0 g (22.72 oz) 2400,0 g (84.66 oz)
Régime alimentaire -- Primarily fish, also frogs, snakes, small mammals, insects, and other birds. Hunts by standing motionless …
Taille de la couvée 1-4 2-7
Population Trend
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Size Comparison

Body Length
Boat-billed Heron
Great Blue Heron 117,0 cm
Envergure
Boat-billed Heron 52,9 cm
Great Blue Heron 183,0 cm
Poids
Boat-billed Heron 644,0 g
Great Blue Heron 2400,0 g
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Habitat Comparison

Habitats partagés

Boat-billed Heron only

Great Blue Heron only

Great Blue Heron

Wetlands of all types including marshes, swamps, riverbanks, lake edges, and coastal shores. Also hunts in fields and meadows.

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Song & Call Comparison

Boat-billed Heron

Great Blue Heron

Chant

Deep, harsh, croaking 'frahnk-frahnk' call in flight. Also gives low guttural grunts at the nest. Alarmed birds give repeated croaks. Mostly silent for such a large wader.

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Geographic Range & Migration

Boat-billed Heron

Great Blue Heron

North and Central America from Alaska and southern Canada to the Caribbean and Galapagos Islands.

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Statut de conservation

Least Concern

Boat-billed Heron

Least Concern

Great Blue Heron

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How to Tell Them Apart

Boat-billed Heron

Great Blue Heron

Plumage

Blue-grey body with a white head bearing a broad black stripe extending to a long black plume. Rufous-brown thighs. In flight, the neck is folded into an S-shape.

Bec

Long, dagger-like yellowish bill

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About These Birds

Boat-billed Heron

The Boat-billed Heron (Cochlearius cochlearius) is one of the most morphologically distinctive members of the family Ardeidae, so unusual in appearance that it was formerly placed in its own monotypic family, Cochleariidae. The feature that immediately sets this species apart is its extraordinarily broad, flat, scoop-shaped bill, which is wider than it is long and resembles an upturned boat hull — a structure unlike any other heron bill. Adults have a black cap and crest, pale gray to white breast …

Great Blue Heron

The great blue heron is the largest heron in North America, standing up to 1.4 meters tall. These patient hunters can stand motionless for extended periods before striking at prey with remarkable speed. They nest in large colonies called heronries, often returning to the same site year after year.

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