S. M. Garver - wildlife Photos

The first three photos are an adult tricolored heron and the rest are two different juveniles.

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Tricolored herons have two-toned beaks with the outermost part being black.
[This heron is mostly slate grey in color with some white feathers on the back of its head and on its legs as seen from this side view. The bird is stepping out of the water onto the grassy hillside.]

The long, pointy bill and the multicolored neck common to herons are more visible in this image.
[The neck has vertical stripes of white in the slate grey. The stomach and front parts of the legs are all white. The bird stands in water up to the feathered part of its legs.]

Running across the water is easier when you have wings to help.
[The water is ruffled where the bird's feet have moved across it. Its wings are up and curved around the back of its head. The underside of the wings is white.]

The tongue of the tricolored heron appears to be much shorter than its bill.
[Side view of a heron facing the left with its bill open and a section of red tongue sticking up from its throat. The sun shining on the bird's righ side highlights the yellow color of the lower bill and the red tongue.]

A juvenile tricolored heron stalking its prey.
[Heron with very visible rust colored feathers is knee-deep in the water with one foot up in the air just under its belly and its head tucked lows as it walks through the water.]

As this bird matures its back and side feathers will become all blue and the yellow part of its bill becomes white.
[The bird is standing in knee-deep water with its body facing the camera showing the colorful white, rust, and grey-blue feathers. Its head is turned to the right.]

The yellow bill and legs of the juvenile as well as the profusion of rust-colored feathers amid the blue.
[Side view of the bird as it stands in the water strewn with grassy stalks.]

This juvenile is probably younger than the prior one since it appears to have more rust-colored feathers.
It's unusual to see this bird without an ess shape in its neck.
[Side view of the bird as it stands in the water with its head fully extended so as to make the neck appear straight like a giraffe.]

The ess shape has returned.
[Side view of the bird as it stands in the water with its head curved back to its body. The water is deep enough that only a few inches of its legs are visible.]

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