- Pilherodius pileatus
Identification
51–61 cm (20-24 in)
- Yellow-white/cream plumage
- Grey wings
- Cream-buff neck and breast
- Black cap
- Long white feathers at nape of neck
- Bright blue surrounding eyes and base of bill
- Cobalt blue bill
Distribution
South America where widespread in tropical areas. Breeds in eastern Panama and from Colombia and Venezuela to Paraguay and south-eastern Brazil.
Resident, possibly with some dispersal.
Taxonomy
This is a monotypic species[1].
Habitat
Swampy forest areas, ponds and streams, sometimes wet savanna.
Behaviour
Diet
They mainly eat small fish, aquatic insects and frogs and tadpoles.
Breeding
There is very little known. Their stick nest is placed low in trees and their clutch consists of 2 eggs.
References
- Clements, J. F., T. S. Schulenberg, M. J. Iliff, D. Roberson, T. A. Fredericks, B. L. Sullivan, and C. L. Wood. 2018. The eBird/Clements checklist of birds of the world: v2018. Downloaded from http://www.birds.cornell.edu/clementschecklist/download/
- Arthur Grosset
- Martínez-Vilalta, A., Motis, A. & Kirwan, G.M. (2019). Capped Heron (Pilherodius pileatus). In: del Hoyo, J., Elliott, A., Sargatal, J., Christie, D.A. & de Juana, E. (eds.). Handbook of the Birds of the World Alive. Lynx Edicions, Barcelona. (retrieved from https://www.hbw.com/node/52673 on 22 July 2019).
- Buderman, F. E. (2010). Capped Heron (Pilherodius pileatus), version 1.0. In Neotropical Birds Online (T. S. Schulenberg, Editor). Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Ithaca, NY, USA. https://doi.org/10.2173/nb.capher1.01
Recommended Citation
- BirdForum Opus contributors. (2024) Capped Heron. In: BirdForum, the forum for wild birds and birding. Retrieved 28 April 2024 from https://www.birdforum.net/opus/Capped_Heron
