Green Heron, Butorides virescens

Green Heron, Butorides virescens virescens, Juvenile. Photograph taken within the rocky shoreline of the greater Bahía de los Ángeles area, Baja California, November 2022. Photograph courtesy of George Flicker, Bahía de los Ángeles. Identification courtesy of Mary & George Flicker, Bahía de los Ángeles.

Green Heron, Butorides virescens virescens. Photograph taken within the rocky shoreline of the greater Bahía de los Ángeles area, Baja California, November 2022. Photograph courtesy of George Flicker, Bahía de los Ángeles. Identification courtesy of Mary & George Flicker, Bahía de los Ángeles.

Green Heron, Butorides virescens virescens. Photograph taken in the greater Puerto Adolfo Lopez Mateos area, Baja California Sur, May 2017.

Green Heron, Butorides virescens virescens. Photographs taken in the greater Zihuantanejo area, Guerrero, March 2018. Photographs courtesy of Ron Woheau, Zihuantanejo.

Green Heron, Butorides virescens virescens. Bird photographed in the greater Mexico City area, March 2021. Photograph and identification courtesy of Marina Sutormina, Stockholm, Sweden.

Green Heron, Butorides virescens virescens. Photographs taken within the Everglades National Park, South Florida, October 2022. Photographs and identification courtesy of Faith Hubsch, Fort Lauderdale, Florida.

Background and Identification

The Green Heron, Butorides virescens, is one of four subspecies of Green Heron, of which three are found in Mexico. They are a member of the Ardeidae Family of Herons, Egrets and Bitterns, which has sixty-eight members placed in eighteen genera, and one of two global species of the Butorides Genus. They are also known as the Little Green Heron and in Mexico as garcilla verde.

The Green Heron is a small, dark, compact, crested common wading bird. The sexes are similar in appearance. They have a glossy greenish-black cap and back, a rufous neck, black wings with a greenish or bluish cast, and underparts gray. They have a shaggy greenish-black crest and their wing feathers have a buff margin. Their bill is dark, their iris is orange or yellow, and their legs are orange. They have a short neck and legs.

Habitat and Geographical Range

The Green Heron inhabit wetland thickets, marshes, swamps, riparian zones along creeks and streams in both marine and freshwater habitats. They are a migratory species making annual migrations southward to warmer climates. They can be seen slowly stalking through the water and perched on top of branches. They feed day and night on a wide variety of fish supplemented with invertebrates. They nest as solitary individuals. They are sky and retiring and will retreat when then come in contact with humans. They have life spans of up to eight years.

The Green Heron is found throughout Mexico. The frazari subspecies in found in Baja California Sur. The virescens subspecies is found throughout mainland Mexico from the United States border south to Guatemala.

Common Misidentifications

The Green Heron is a straightforward identification that cannot be confused with any other species.

Conservation Status

From a conservation perspective the Green Heron is currently considered to be of Least Concern with stable, widely distributed populations. In some regions they are hunted for human food consumption. Their long-term survival is threatened by the presence of pesticides and herbicides within their aquatic environments and the destruction of coastal marine habitat.