Other Names: Louisiana heron, scoggin
Length: 24-26 in.
Wingspan: 36 in.
Weight: to about 11 oz.
Age: one banded bird recaptured after 17 yrs.
Voice: harsh croaks, deep groans
Food: stands belly-deep in water stalking small fish or runs through shallows with wings partly raised; lizards, tadpoles water bugs, beetles
Color: dark heron with slate-colored head, neck and back; front of long neck striped red-brown and white; belly and flanks white; back and wings blue-gray; long plumes in breeding season.