The Story
I photographed this Little Blue Heron (Egretta caerulea) at Hacienda La Cabaña, near Tauramena, Casanare, Colombia, in January 2020. Adults are dark, with purple-maroon heads, blue bodies and a two-toned bill, pale blue at the base and black at the tip. Juveniles are entirely white and look like Snowy Egrets. It hunts fish, crabs and other small animals in both fresh and salt water. It nests in trees in colonies with other bird species. IUCN lists it as Least Concern, though its numbers are believed to be falling.
I made this frame with a Pentax K-1 and the HD Pentax-D FA 150-450mm f/4.5-5.6, at 1/500 sec, f/5.6, ISO 100. Tauramena was founded in 1663 by Governor Pedro Ordóñez de Vargas with Achagua people from the Upía and Cusiana rivers.
©2020 Adam Rainoff Photographer
The bird
The Little Blue Heron (Egretta caerulea) belongs to the family Ardeidae (Herons, Egrets, and Bitterns) in the eBird/Clements taxonomy.
Source: eBird.org (opens in a new tab)
Conservation
Least Concern on the IUCN Red List (assessment published 2025), with the population trend listed as decreasing. Source: IUCN Red List
