HERONS, EGRETS, AND BITTERNS   -   ARDEIDAE


Rufescent Tiger-Heron - Tigrisoma lineatum
Rufescent Tiger-Heron
Tigrisoma lineatum marmoratum
Transpantanal Highway, Mato Grosso state, Brazil.
Adult. (D2)


Rufescent Tiger-Heron - Tigrisoma lineatum
Rufescent Tiger-Heron
Tigrisoma lineatum marmoratum
Transpantanal Highway, Mato Grosso state, Brazil.
Juvenile. (D3)


Rufescent Tiger-Heron - Tigrisoma lineatum
Rufescent Tiger-Heron
Tigrisoma lineatum marmoratum
Transpantanal Highway, Mato Grosso state, Brazil.
Juvenile. An odd behavior, hold one wing outstretched. I don't know why it was doing that. It didn't seem to be drying the wing out. (D2)


Fasciated Tiger-Heron - Tigrisoma fasciatum
Fasciated Tiger-Heron
Tigrisoma fasciatum salmoni
Arenal Observatory, Alajuela province, Costa Rica.
Adult. This heron only lives around fast-moving rocky streams and rivers. (S5)


Fasciated Tiger-Heron - Tigrisoma fasciatum
Fasciated Tiger-Heron
Tigrisoma fasciatum salmoni
Zamora, Zamora-Chinchipe province, Ecuador.
Juvenile. (S5)


Bare-throated Tiger-Heron - Tigrisoma mexicanum
Bare-throated Tiger-Heron
Tigrisoma mexicanum
Carara NP, Puntarenas province, Costa Rica.
This hulking heron normally occurs from Mexico to Colombia, with vagrants recorded from southern Texas and northern Peru. (D3)


Agami Heron - Agamia agami
Agami Heron
Agamia agami
Pantanal Wildlife Center, Mato Grosso state, Brazil.
One of the hardest to see of the continent's heron's, since they stay in dense vegetation on the edges of slow moving rivers through forest. I also think it's one of the most beautiful of the family, with it's colorful plumage and amazing beak. (S5)


Boat-billed Heron - Cochlearius cochlearius Boat-billed Heron - Cochlearius cochlearius
Boat-billed Heron
Cochlearius cochlearius panamensis
Carara NP, Puntarenas province, Costa Rica.
A nocturnal heron. A small flock was roosting under the canopy of a small try by the edge of the river, but this one perched nearby in the open. Perhaps one of the many tourists visiting the park had startled it off its perch. (D2)
Boat-billed Heron
Cochlearius cochlearius panamensis
Ecocenter Danaus, Alajuela province, Costa Rica.
There is quite a bit of individual variation in the amount of chestnut on the underparts. (S5)



Yellow-crowned Night-Heron - Nyctanassa violaceaYellow-crowned Night-Heron - Nyctanassa violacea
Yellow-crowned Night-Heron
Nyctanassa violacea (subspecies?)
Tárcoles, Puntarenas province, Costa Rica.
Adult. I don't know which subspecies occurs in Costa Rica. (S5)
Yellow-crowned Night-Heron
Nyctanassa violacea pauper
Genovesa Island, Galapagos, Ecuador.
Juvenile. This subspecies is endemic to Galapagos. (S5)


Green Heron - Butorides virescens
Green Heron
Butorides virescens
Carara NP, Puntarenas province, Costa Rica.
A migratory species, breeding in North America and wintering south to northern South America. (D2)


Striated (Lava) Heron - Butorides striata sundevalli
Striated (Lava) Heron
Butorides striata sundevalli
Bartholome Island, Galapagos, Ecuador.
Lava Heron, endemic to the Galapagos, has now been lumped with the widespread Striated Heron despite the striking plumage differences. Apparently some hybridization occurs. (S1)


Cattle Egret - Bubulcus ibis
Cattle Egret
Bubulcus ibis ibis
Northeast of Catemaco, Veracruz state, Mexico.
(S5)


Great Blue Heron - Ardea herodias
Great Blue Heron
Ardea herodias cognata
Santa Cruz Island, Galapagos, Ecuador.
Unlike anywhere else in South America, Great Blue Herons are permanent residents on the Galapagos. It is an endemic subspecies. (S5)


Great Blue Heron - Ardea herodias
Great Blue Heron
Ardea herodias herodias
Tárcoles, Puntarenas province, Costa Rica.
A wintering bird. (S5)


Cocoi Heron - Ardea cocoi
Cocoi Heron
Ardea cocoi
Transpantanal Highway, Mato Grosso state, Brazil.
Formerly called White-necked Heron. (D3)


Great Egret - Ardea alba
Great Egret
Ardea alba egretta
Transpantanal Highway, Mato Grosso state, Brazil.
(D2)


Whistling Heron - Syrigma sibilatrix
Whistling Heron
Syrigma sibilatrix sibilatrix
Fazenda Santa Tereza (Pantanal lodge), Mato Grosso state, Brazil.
(D4)


Whistling Heron - Syrigma sibilatrix
Whistling Heron
Syrigma sibilatrix sibilatrix
Reserva Ecologica de Guapi Assu, Rio de Janeiro state, Brazil.
While this individual was photographed perched in a tree above a wetland, it is less tied to water than most heron species. I usually see them alone in grazed pastures, often far from water, not in wetlands. (D3)


Tricolored Heron - Egretta tricolor
Tricolored Heron
Egretta tricolor ruficollis
Carara NP, Puntarenas province, Costa Rica.
(D2)


Snowy Egret - Egretta thula
Snowy Egret
Egretta thula brewsteri
Tárcoles, Puntarenas province, Costa Rica.
(S5)


Little Blue Heron - Egretta caerulea
Little Blue Heron
Egretta caerulea
Pousada Piuval, Pantanal, Mato Grosso state, Brazil.
Adult. Little Blue Herons in South America are not migratory, unlike their North American brethren. (S5)


Little Blue Heron - Egretta caerulea
Little Blue Heron
Egretta caerulea
Tárcoles, Puntarenas province, Costa Rica.
Juvenile. (S5)
















Website design and all photos copyright Nick Athanas
For questions, comments, or photograph licensing info, please email