Heron has a short neck compared to other herons and a short but strong and powerful beak. The legs are also shorter than the rest of the herons. The male in the wedding dress has a black cap with a greenish tint and a back of the same color. The wings are gray. The belly and sides are white. On the back of the head, in spring, 2–4 long narrow white feathers grow. The beak is black, the legs are yellow or pink with long toes. The female has a similar color. Young birds are dark brown with longitudinal streaks. Downy chicks are white.
Common heron inhabits almost the whole of America , Africa , South and Central Europe and Asia . European Heroids migrate, winter in Equatorial Africa. There is no common heron only in Australia . In Russia, a large number of nesting birds can be found in the Volga delta.
Heroids are active mainly in the mornings and evenings, during the day they sit motionless on a branch. However, in nesting time they are active during the day. They nest near densely overgrown ponds at the forest edge or in the forest.
Nutrition
Herbs generally feed on fish and frogs, as well as aquatic insects.
Voice
The voice is a loud bass cry, often transmitted as a “cuckoo,” it is often heard on summer evenings. When in danger, the bird emits a higher cry, similar to a cat's meow.
Reproduction
Heron nests in colonies with other herons or their own colonies, up to a thousand pairs in trees or shrubs. If the nesting site is far from human habitation, they can also nest on reed creases. The nest is constructed from small twigs, where the female lays 3-4 eggs. After 21 days, the chicks hatch, usually with a difference of 1-2 days, in the sequence in which the eggs were laid. Both parents feed the chicks, first burping semi-digested food in their beaks. Later, when the chicks grow up, they begin to feed them with ordinary food.
