Boat-billed heron facts for kids
The boat-billed heron is a special kind of heron. People sometimes call it the boatbill because of its unique beak. It's the only bird in its group, called Cochlearius. You can find it in mangrove swamps, all the way from Mexico down to Peru and Brazil. This bird is active at night. It builds twig nests in mangrove trees and lays two to four bluish-white eggs. They often nest together in groups.
Quick facts for kids Boat-billed heron |
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Cochlearius
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cochlearius
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Contents
What's in a Name?
The boat-billed heron got its name from its unique, wide, scoop-like beak. In 1760, a French scientist named Mathurin Jacques Brisson first described this bird. Later, in 1766, a Swedish scientist named Carl Linnaeus gave it the scientific name Cancroma cochlearia.
Today, the boat-billed heron is placed in the group Cochlearius, which Brisson first named. Its full scientific name is Cochlearius cochlearius. The word Cochlearius comes from a Latin word meaning "spoon" or "snail shell," which perfectly describes its bill!
There are five slightly different types, or subspecies, of boat-billed herons:
- C. c. zeledoni – found in west Mexico
- C. c. phillipsi – found in east Mexico and Belize
- C. c. ridgwayi – found from south Mexico to Honduras
- C. c. panamensis – found in Costa Rica and Panama
- C. c. cochlearius – found in north and central South America
How to Spot a Boat-Billed Heron
The boat-billed heron is about 54 centimeters (about 21 inches) long. Adult birds are pale grey to white, with a reddish-brown belly and black sides. Their most noticeable feature is their huge, wide, black, scoop-like bill.
They also have a crest of feathers on their head. This crest is bigger in males and is thought to help them attract a mate. Males and females look similar, but females are a bit smaller, more gray, and have shorter crests.
Baby herons, called nestlings, have green-yellow skin with gray fluffy feathers on their backs. Their upper bill is black, and their legs are green-yellow. Young herons are darker than adults and don't have a crest.
Where They Live
Boat-billed herons live from Mexico all the way down to Peru, Brazil, and northeastern Argentina. They don't migrate, meaning they stay in the same area all year. They prefer to live in seasonal lagoons and estuaries, which are places where rivers meet the sea. They especially like to build their nests in mangrove trees.
Life and Habits
Breeding and Nests
Boat-billed herons usually breed during the rainy season. They can even have two sets of babies during this time! They lay their first eggs around February, at the end of the dry season. Each time, they lay between two and four bluish-white eggs. They tend to lay more eggs in their first nesting period.
These birds often nest together in groups, like a small neighborhood. However, sometimes they nest alone. It's important not to disturb them, as they might leave their nests if people get too close.
What They Eat and How They Hunt
Boat-billed herons eat a variety of small creatures. Their diet includes small mammals, amphibians, worms, snails, insects, crabs, shrimp, and small fish. Some of the fish they eat are mullet, snook, and catfish.
They like to hunt in streams with lots of plants, shallow water, and lagoons. When hunting in streams, they stand on low-hanging branches or mangrove roots over the water. In ponds, they walk slowly through water that's up to 10 centimeters (about 4 inches) deep, or they hunt near the water's edge.
To catch their food, they lunge at fish or scoop the surface of the water with their unique bills. They have two main ways of hunting:
- Standing still and slowly sneaking up on their prey.
- Stirring up the water and then chasing their prey.
Boat-billed herons hunt at night. They usually leave their resting spots about 30 minutes after sunset to find food. They don't hunt when there's light, whether it's daylight, moonlight, or artificial light. Scientists think their bills might be very sensitive to touch, which helps them feel for food in the dark, muddy water.
