Great blue heron
| Great blue heron Temporal range: | |
|---|---|
| Dark form, in the Gulf of Mexico, near Tarpon Springs, Florida | |
| White form, possibly A. h. occidentalis, in Cayo Guillermo National Park, Cuba | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Aves |
| Order: | Pelecaniformes |
| Family: | Ardeidae |
| Genus: | Ardea |
| Species: | A. herodias |
| Binomial name | |
| Ardea herodias | |
| North American range (also in far northwestern South America, not shown)
Breeding range Year-round range Wintering range Present during migration | |
The great blue heron (Ardea herodias) is a large wading bird in the heron family Ardeidae, common near the shores of open water and in wetlands over most of North and Central America, as well as far northwestern South America, the Caribbean and the Galápagos Islands. It is occasionally found in the Azores and is a rare vagrant to Europe. An all-white population found in south Florida and the Florida Keys is known as the great white heron. Debate exists about whether this represents a white color morph of the great blue heron, a subspecies of it, or an entirely separate species.
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