Animal Corner

Discover the many amazing animals that live on our planet.

  • Home
  • A-Z Animals
  • Anatomy
  • Glossary
  • Animal Lists
    • Animal By Letter
    • Animals by Location
    • Mammals
    • Birds
    • Reptiles
    • Amphibians
  • Free Resources
    • Animal Coloring Pages
    • Animal Jokes
    • Animal Quizzes
  • Pets
    • Dog Breeds
    • Rabbit Breeds
    • Cat Breeds
    • Pet Rodents
    • Animal Care
  • Blog
You are here: Home / Animals / Galapagos Lava Heron Bird

Galapagos Lava Heron Bird

Image Source

Lava Heron Galapagos Bird

Lava Herons (Butorides sundevalli) are endemic (unique) to the Galapagos Islands. They can be mostly observed on the James Bay area of the islands. Lava Herons are small (35 centimetres), grey, dark on wings and back, and orange legs. Lava Herons can be found along the rock shores and mangrove swamps around the islands. The Lava Herons dark grey color blends with the color of lava.

The Lava Heron has evolved to adapt to its environment through its coloring.

The Lava Herons coloring enables it to blend in with its environment and therefore hide from predators. The adults can be very dark and difficult to spot against the lava.

Lava Herons have also been known to eat the flies that gather near cacti. Unlike most herons, these birds nest in solitary pairs in either the lower branches of mangrove trees or under lava rocks.

This heron is sometimes considered a subspecies of the Striated Heron, or even just a color morph of it. However, it is typically maintained as a separate species.

The Lava Heron is so tame, it will let you take photos of it from as close as 8 inches.

Lava Heron

These highly territorial birds are found in intertidal zones and mangrove groves on all of the Galapagos islands. You can often see Lava Herons sitting motionless on lava rocks, waiting patiently to grasp a passing fish with its bill. Lava Herons feed mainly on small fish, crabs and lizards. The Lava Heron stalks small crabs and fish slowly before quickly spearing and eating them.

The adult Lava Heron is slate-grey, which helps it blend in with the hardened lava. The back feathers typically have a silvery sheen and it has a short crest on its head. The feeding behaviour of the Lava Heron is quite impressive, it can catch small crabs at a rate of 2-3 crabs a minute.

Lava Herons are monogamous (only breed with one mate at a time) for the breeding season and engage in elaborate courtship displays. They can breed year-round, though typically from September to March and can mate up to three times a year.

Male Lava Herons obtain bright breeding colors on legs and beaks and some like the Great and Snowy Egrets develop aigrettes, which are spectacular head, neck and scapular plumes. When breeding, the heron has a black beak and bright orange legs, but they fade to grey after the breeding season.

After they formed pairs, females build platform nests of sticks in trees, shrubs or bushes near water while the males gather the necessary materials. Up to 10 eggs are laid and both incubate and the hatching is asynchronous.

Both parents feed the young, which fledge in 4 – 8 weeks. Having been hunted in their past for their meat and in some species like the egrets for their showy feathers, they became almost extinct in some countries but have now recovered their numbers. These birds have no fear of humans.

More Fascinating Animals to Learn About

  • Galapagos Lava Gull Bird
  • Galapagos Willet Bird
  • Galapagos Rail Bird
  • Galapagos Flycatcher Bird
    Galapagos Flycatcher Bird
  • Galapagos Great Blue Heron Bird
  • Galapagos Masked Booby Bird

About Joanne Spencer

I've always been passionate about animals which led me to a career in training and behaviour. As an animal professional I'm committed to improving relationships between people and animals to bring them more happiness.

Animal Classification

Kingdom:Animalia
Phylum:Chordata
Class:Aves
Order:Pelecaniformes
Family:Ardeidae
Genus:Butorides
Species:B. sundevalli
Binomial name:Butorides sundevalli

Search

Most Popular Animals

  • Zebras
  • Aquatic Warbler
  • Atlantic Dolphins
  • Trapdoor Spider
  • Giraffe
  • Meerkats
  • Timber Wolf
  • Praying Mantis
  • Huntsman Spider
  • Vampire Bat

Galapagos Islands

galapagos-islands

Animal Names Glossary

Animal Names

British Wildlife

british-wildlife

Mammals

anatomy

Dog Breeds

dog breeds

Farm Animals

Farm Animals

Best of the Blog

  • 21 Amazing Animals that live in Lakes
  • What are the Fastest Animals in the World?
  • 31 Animals with Weird and Funny Sounding Names
  • Top 15 Deadliest Animals in the World
  • Ophiophagy – Examples of animals that eat snakes
  • List of Fascinating Solitary Animals

Copyright © 2005-2022 · Animal Corner · All Rights Reserved · Affiliate Disclaimer · Privacy Policy · Animals Sitemap . About Us

AnimalCorner.org is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.com. Amazon and the Amazon logo are trademarks of Amazon.com, Inc. or its affiliates.