Cute Big Cranky

January 29, 2010 in New Birds and Herons with 5 comments

The Great Blue Heron is our 227th cute Birdorable and the answer to yesterday's Spot the Birdorable. If you live in North America you've probably seen these around near water as they are quite common. It has several nicknames, including Big Cranky, Blue Crane, Long John and Poor Joe. Did you know that all Herons have two or more patches of powder-down feathers on their breasts? The feathers break up into a fine power when crushed. The birds apply this powder to areas of blood, mud or slime to absorb the mess. Once it has clumped up they can just scrape it off with their feet. They also sprinkle the powder on fish that they just caught to more easily clean off the slime and oil before eating it.

Photo by Gary Woodburn (via Flickr)

If you like this bird see our other egrets and waders. We've also added the grey equivalent of this bird: the Grey Heron, which can be found across temperate Europe, Asia and parts of Africa.

Comments

Canaduck on January 29, 2010 at 9:37 PM wrote:

That is SO cute. I've never heard GBH's being called "Big Cranky" before, but the name fits, to be sure!

Kim B. on June 9, 2011 at 2:32 PM wrote:

I love GBH. Which reminds me that I need to go over the the heronry/rookery and check out the babies.

molly on October 1, 2011 at 1:49 AM wrote:

awwwwwwwww its soooo cute

Spurwing Plover on April 12, 2020 at 5:02 AM wrote:

I have seen Great Blue Herons my Grandma called them Icabods

Reed on May 14, 2020 at 1:10 PM wrote:

I see alot of GBHS at falls lake which is the lake near my house

Comments with links or HTML will be deleted. Your comment will be published pending approval.

Your name (required)

Your email address (required)

Your email address will not be published

Comment (required)

I agree to receive updates and news from Birdorable

You can unsubscribe from these communications at any time. For more information on how to unsubscribe, our privacy practices, and how we are committed to protecting and respecting your privacy, please review our Privacy Policy. By clicking submit below, you consent to allow Birdorable to store and process the personal information submitted above to provide you the content requested.

2018 Bonanza Bird #10: Scaly-headed Parrot

December 2, 2018

Today we wrap up our 2018 Birdorable Bonanza with a species of South American parrot: the Scaly-headed Parrot! This pretty bird is a medium-sized parrot native to eastern parts of South America, where it can be found in a variety of...

New and Updated Birdorable Kingfishers

December 4, 2014

We have recently updated some of our Kingfishers and added several new ones bringing the total number of Kingfishers on Birdorable to ten! There are actually 90 different species of Kingfisher in the world, so we still have a way to go. Each of our birds...

2021 Bonanza Bird #10

Bare-Faced Beauty: The Unique Appearance of Australian Brushturkeys

November 25, 2021

Happy Thanksgiving! Today's new species isn't related to today's most famous bird, but the name is similar -- welcome the Australian Brushturkey to Birdorable!Australian Brushturkeys are large, darkly plumaged birds with bare facial and neck skin. In males, the...

2020 Bonanza Bird #8: African Jacana

December 1, 2020

Today’s new species is a type of wading bird found in parts of sub-Saharan Africa. The African Jacana is easily recognized by its unique chestnut plumage, its blue beak and facial shield, and by those toes. Look at those crazy long toes! African...

Birdorable Blog