Blue heron: how did this bird elevate itself to the alpha predator? (8 photos)
The soft tread on the muddy bottom makes the whole continent tremble with fear. Its slow steps bear the seal of death for everyone it notices. Why? Because before you is the main predator of the rivers and swamps of America. The blue heron - will get everyone, will eat everyone! 
- Let me go, heron, I will grant three wishes! - I have only two: to eat and to kill! By the way, in the photo the heron does not have a fish in its mouth, but an amphibious siren.
The bird has the entire North American continent under its heel. Alaska, Canada, even Mexico. They say that it has only flown into our native boyish yards on one island in the Bering Strait, on Ratmanov, and even then some doubt it. Alas, we have to observe the whole coolness of the blue heron from a distance! 
Visually shows how long the tongue of gossips really is.
The bird inspires respect at first sight. Height - 138 cm, wingspan - 2.1 meters, weight - 3 kg. With such dimensions, the blue heron bursts into two tops at once. On its continent, it holds the leading position - it is the largest heron in America. But in the world top, it also occupies an honorable third place in size among all herons on earth! 
How do you feel after the first day in the gym.
If you look at the diet of the feathered terminator, it immediately becomes clear where its power comes from. Because the blue heron's diet includes absolutely everything that grew in swampy bogs and sluggish water bodies. From the water, the bird fishes out fish, crustaceans, turtles, snakes, lizards, frogs and salamanders. 
I wonder what the heron told this fish that it laughs so much?
It digs up moles, rabbits, voles, marmots and shrews from under the ground. And on the surface, the merciless hunter catches waterfowl: sultanas, geese, diving ducks, grebes, ducks, terns - all of them will become dinner at the behest of a powerful beak. It is not surprising that there were cases when this bird choked on prey if it was too large. 
Snakes can be difficult. If you don't keep an eye on them, their long bodies tighten around the bird's neck, and then the endurance race begins. Who will be the first to loosen their grip - the snake or the heron?
The hunting process is like a children's game "one, two, three - sea figure freeze." The losers will inevitably die. While the prey is not in sight, the bird meditatively walks along the shallows, getting closer. As soon as the victim suspects something is wrong, the heron freezes. Having reduced the distance as much as possible, the bird lunges. A powerful beak, like an arrow, pierces the body through and through! However, if you need to dig in the ground, make a short run or stun the prey by jumping on it like a ninja from the trees - the heron will do it without thinking. An insatiable appetite forces you to improvise. And here's the scariest thing: America's reservoirs are terrorized not by one heron, but by a whole crowd of such scumbags. An especially large mugging company gathers during the breeding season - up to 500 pairs on one unfortunate lake or swamp. That's a thousand insatiable mouths, not counting the chicks! 
Our relationship is very complicated!
But that's not all! Herons build a nest and raise their babies in pairs. True, this pair, most often, lasts for one season. Chicks are from 3 to 6 pieces per year. So, during the time of feeding the offspring, the parents eat four times more than usual! The standard need of the body for food does not exceed 280 calories per day. But during the breeding season, herons eat at least 1000 calories per day! 
— Three pizzas for me, please. — Is that for the whole family? — No, it's just for me.
All this, of course, is not for themselves, but for the little chicks. The parents feed them a half-digested gruel from everything they ate themselves. The result of such feeding is obvious — by the 45th day of life, the chicks' weight is 86% of the weight of an adult! 
Young herons can fly already by the second month. But at first they regularly return to the nest so that their parents can feed them.
The young become independent at the age of 4-5 months. But young females and males will be able to make their own babies only after two years. Herons hold the waters of North America under severe oppression for a long time, the average life expectancy of birds is up to 15 years!
