Yellow Heron - description, habitat, interesting facts

The yellow heron can, without doubt, be distinguished from other members of this family in terms of size and characteristics of addition. She is also easily distinguished by the color of her plumage. But a bird in the air, because of its seeming white color, can easily be mistaken for one of its congeners. Although on the fly it is still possible to distinguish it, if you look at the shape of its wing, which has a large width and almost even cut in the end.

Appearance

The length of the yellow heron from tail to beak does not exceed 49 centimeters; the weight of an adult reaches 300 grams; in the span of its wings it can reach 80 centimeters. This bird is the owner of light brown plumage, however, the color of the belly, like in other herons, of the tail and its peculiar wings, has a dirty white tint.The legs of a miniature heron are painted red-brown, its beak is expressed in a rich olive tinge, but the top of the beak is covered with black color. During the period when the bird is dressed in a mating dress, colorful plumage is formed on its nape, consisting of long feathers, black and white. The juvenile yellow heron has brighter colors in its color.

The main habitats of unusual birds

As a favorite place for its nesting, the yellow heron chooses freshwater areas of the marshy lowlands and swamps covered with thickets of reed representatives of the flora. In the Asian part of Eurasia, as well as in the Mediterranean, they can be found in abundance. Above all, this bird is also known in the Caucasus, its presence on the African continent will be easily confirmed by the inhabitants of Morocco, as well as by Ethiopia. Here, on the expanses of Africa, it flies from the second half of September, to the beginning of October, at a time when some individuals prefer wintering in the southern part of the Mediterranean.

When April arrives, it is time to return to the places of their permanent nesting sites, but the route of individual representatives is arranged somewhat differently, they tend to the coast of the North Sea, at the behest of genetic memory.The presence of a yellow heron in the central part of Europe can be watched by anyone before the end of the summer period.

This bird, which possesses quite individual features, is very well known to the inhabitants of Romania, the presence of these birds in the amount of not less than 6 thousand pairs was found there, and the inhabitants of Turkey accept these travelers in practically the same quantities. The population of the yellow heron has recently become widespread in Armenia.

And in Russia it is well known in the lower reaches of the valley adjacent to the Lower Don, in the areas of the western and eastern Manych, it is well known to residents of the coastal massifs of Stavropol. But the geographical component of her stay in Russia does not end there. About its presence is known to the few inhabitants living in the floodplains of the Kuban, as well as the Terek, it is much less common in the deltas of the Volga and the Urals.

Yellow Heron Diet

This bird is most active in twilight time, twilight hours are the main time of its hunting. She chooses impassable thickets of bushes or reeds as a venue for her hunting.The main focus of her attention is frogs living in water or small fish. But with equal appetite the bird eats various large insects living in the aquatic environment.

Features of the mating season swamp dweller

The yellow heron prefers to settle in colonies and only in rare cases can it settle apart. Most often likes to sit down to other herons, for example, to the loaf or no less famous spears. In such cases, you can see two variants of the settlement: either a unique representative of her own species tries to harmoniously distribute her nests among her closest relatives, or she gets a rebuff, and in this case she has to form her own group. Sometimes, in cases of individual settlements, the yellow heron has to build its nests in the adjacent trees.

The yellow heron in a personal relationship elects a monogamous policy, the partner is chosen for the season, and both birds take care of the offspring together. Only the male is engaged in the nest device, after all preparations are completed, he calls the female, using his far from melodious voice.

The marriage games of these members of the family represent a theater full of passions and action. A proud male, above all, demonstrates a complete dislike for his partner, in a fit of indignation he can even inflict a few tangible blows on her. But everything is decided by the stubbornness of the female, which ultimately forces the male to surrender.

Features breeding chicks

By the time of laying the laying yellow herons do not adhere to a well-planned schedule. Much depends on the climatic conditions in which nesting is made. But, besides this, these birds prefer to adapt to the manners of their nearest neighbors so as not to go against the main mass of the colony, to which they have a habit of adjoining.

Both partners are equally concerned with the drying out of the clutch; they alternately are on duty at the nest, without leaving the clutch unattended for a minute. After the chicks have successfully hatched, the parents also mutually feed the offspring,although the undoubted coordinator in this matter is the female, and the male submits to her submissively.

Young herons become independent on the 45th day of their existence and immediately forget about their parents.

Video: Yellow Heron (Ardeola ralloides)