The Little Blue Heron is a medium sized wading bird with a slate-blue body, purplish maroon head and neck, light blue bill tipped with black, and yellow legs with dark feet. Found throughout the southeastern United States and up the Atlantic Coast to New England, the Little Blue Herons range also extends down to both coasts of Mexico, parts of Central America and northern South America, as well as throughout the Caribbean region.

As with most wading birds, the Little Blue is a stealthy hunter, standing motionless in the shallow water until its dinner comes within range. Making its home in freshwater swamps, lagoons, coastal thickets and islands, the Little Blue Heron feeds primarily on small fish, crustaceans, reptiles, amphibians and insects.

At Gatorland, nesting begins in late February to early March, with the parents constructing a nest made of sticks, lined with leaves and twigs. The female lays four to five pale bluish-green eggs, one every other day. Both parents participate in incubation which lasts for 22 to 23 days. The Little Blue is the only Heron to have white chicks, they will not reach their slate-blue adult coloration for several years. Juveniles begin to fly at about four weeks of age. Contrary to popular belief, the Little Blue Heron can reach sexual maturity before reaching adult plumage, as the picture above shows.

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