Some of us around here (some more than others) wear our love for Green Herons on our proverbial sleeves. But how could you not love these birds with their distinctive chestnut and pine plumage, their ribald nickname, their groovy necks? But you shouldn’t just admire Butorides virescens for its beauty: this bird is smart!
Researchers have documented Green Herons employing a variety of baits to lure prey within reach of that serpentine neck. But I’ve never seen this avian intelligence in action until now, thanks to this excellent video…
httpv://youtu.be/Porp5v5lLKk
Seriously, don’t you think Green Herons deserve more respect?
Mike is a leading authority in the field of standardized test preparation, but he's also a traveler who fully expects to see every bird in the world. Besides founding 10,000 Birds in 2003, Mike has also created a number of other entertaining but now extirpated nature blog resources, particularly the Nature Blog Network and I and the Bird.
There used to be a site in Barbados called Graham Hill Swamp. Tarpon had become trapped in the lake when it was closed off from the sea, now people come to feed them. The Green Herons there grab any loose pellets and fish with them in the shallow water where the huge tarpon can’t reach.
Do you think that that heron was retrieving his bait to avoid fish that were too big for it to catch taking it?