Green Heron on 300lb paper. The green heron (Butorides virescens) is a small, stocky wading bird found across much of North and Central America. Despite its name, its plumage is a rich mix of deep chestnut-brown on the neck and breast, with a glossy dark greenish-black cap that often appears more blue or black than green in certain light. Its back and wings are a muted blue-green, giving it a subtle iridescence. It has short, bright orange-yellow legs, a sharp, daggerlike bill, and striking yellow-orange eyes. One of the more compact herons, it tends to hunch its neck into its shoulders, giving it a hunched, secretive appearance as it perches motionless along the edges of streams, ponds, and marshes, patiently waiting to strike at small fish, frogs, and insects. Notably, the green heron is one of the few tool-using birds, known to drop small objects like insects or feathers onto the water's surface as lures to attract fish.
