The Great Blue Heron is the largest heron in North America, approaching 52 inches tall in height, four feet in length, with a seven foot wingspan and a weight of up to 2.5 kg. It is filmed here eating a snake.

Adults have blue-grey wings and back and a white head with a black cap and a long black plume. The face is white, with a black streak extending from behind the eye to the back of the head. They have a long neck, streaked with white, rust-brown, and black, which is generally held in a s-curve while wading, and a short tail. The beak is yellow, long, and and tapers to a point. Legs are long, and greenish-yellow in color.

It feeds in shallow water or at the water's edge during both the night and the day. Herons locate their food by sight and generally swallow it whole. Herons have been known to choke on prey that is too large. Its diet can also include insects, snakes, turtles, rodents and small birds.

This video was filmed in March 2007 at Anahuac National Wildlife Refuge in Texas.
For high speed connections, here's a file that plays on Windows Media Player in 640 x 480 size.

(See further down page for smaller file for those without high speed connection.)

Click on the picture to start the video. 

  Photo

Here is a smaller video file for those on dial-up connection.
Click on the picture to start the video.

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Great blue heron eats a snake 
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