Electron microscopic observations on the pecten of the great blue heron (Ardea herodias).

Recent switch by the Great Blue Heron Ardea herodias fannini in the Pacific northwest to associative nesting with Bald Eagles (Haliaeetus leucocephalus) to gain predator protection

The Great Blue Heron Ardea herodias fannini Chapman, 1901 in the Pacific northwest appears to have modified nesting behaviour in response to the strong recent recovery of the Bald Eagle (Haliaeetus leucocephalus (L., 1766)) population. Previously undescribed, herons now often nest in close association with some breeding eagles, even though eagles depredate heron nestlings, are implicated in the...

Retrobulbar teratoma in a great blue heron (Ardea herodias).

Sociality Among Foraging Ardeidae: Does Plumage Coloration Influence Nearest-Neighbor Spacing?

—Increased sociality in herons, family Ardeidae, is often considered to be associated with the occurrence of white plumage. If white plumage increases sociality, we hypothesized that white-plumaged birds should forage closer to one another and dark birds should remain more solitary. We tested this hypothesis by investigating the inter-individual spacing (nearest neighbor distance) in two pairs ...

The Value a N D Vulnerability of Small Estuarine Islands for Conserving Metapopulations of Breeding Waterbirds

Compelling arguments for preserving large habitat 'islands' have been made for a number of animal groups, but most commonly for terrestrial birds. We argue that, for many species of waterbirds nesting in coastal estuaries, maintaining numerous small islands may be a more effective management strategy than maintaining larger islands or reserves. In this study, the number of great white heron Ard...

Tissue-based risk assessment of great blue heron (Ardea herodias) exposed to PCDD/DF in the Tittabawassee River floodplain, Michigan, USA.

Concentrations of dioxin-like compounds, primarily polychlorinated dibenzofurans (PCDFs), in soils and sediments of the Tittabawassee River (TR) and associated floodplains downstream of Midland, Michigan, USA, were greater than upstream sites and prompted a site-specific risk assessment of great blue herons (GBH). Tissue exposure of PCDF and polychlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxins (PCDDs) was assesse...