— When we were in Brazil this past April, we spent an afternoon at the Ibirapuera Park, São Paulo‘s first metropolitan park. With 158 hectares (approx. 390 acres), you can think of it as Brazil‘s equivalent to — though much smaller than — New York City’s Central Park. Even though there is plenty of green in the park, I was surprised to see this Striated Heron in one of the creeks running through the park. With over ten million visitors a year, the park is not known for quiet spaces. Nevertheless, this heron was intent on getting dinner one way or another.
Striated herons, also known as mangrove herons or little herons, are relatively small herons, typically measuring around 17-19 inches (44-48 cm) in length. They have a wingspan of about 28 inches (72 cm). They often have fine streaks or striations on their neck, hence the name “striated herons.”
I want to thank I.J. Khanewala for the prompt his blog Don’t Hold Your Breath gave me to think back about this beautiful bird via the Bird of the Week challenge.
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I. J. Khanewala
Lovely bird. I was surprised to see your photos of it from Brazil. But then I checked and found that it has a pan-tropical range.
Egídio Leitão
Thanks, I.J. About the bird’s location, I also found the same. It seems to be seen in many parts of the world.
Rebecca Cuningham
Great to hear about the park in Sao Paolo that gave great habitat to the heron!
margaret21
What a charming bird.
Ross Millikan
A beautiful bird. In California we get green herons, which are the same shape but lack the striations on the breast. They used to be considered the same species but have been separated.
Anne Sandler
Thanks for showing us a bird I’ve never seen. The closest we have is the green heron. Great shot.
Egídio Leitão
And like that heron, there were other tropical birds in the park. Thanks for your comment.
Egídio Leitão
They sometimes look strange to me. This was indeed charming, Margaret. Thanks.
Egídio Leitão
Hi, Ross. Thanks for the feedback. I have some photos of green herons I captured here, too. They seem to have such a wide variety.
Egídio Leitão
Anne, you’re very welcome. I lucked out stumbling into that heron. I have seen green herons here in Texas. They do look somewhat similar. Thanks for the feedback.
Rebecca Cuningham
São Paolo needed more parks. Hope you won’t be offended: When my husband and I flew into the city on 2002, we saw concrete expanse. His joke was “the Death Star”. So glad to hear of its greening. It’s a great city.
margaret21
Strange? That’s a bit harsh! I’m a heron fan!
Egídio Leitão
No offense at all. I also think the city is too big a metropolis with few spaces for nature.
Egídio Leitão
I love watching them. Once at a park, I sat outside my cabin observing a grey heron for a couple of hours. When they curve their back, the posture makes them look strange to my eyes.
Rebecca Cuningham
It took a lot of planning to make such a large green space!
margaret21
I see what you mean. They really focus, don’t they?
Anita
What a lovely photo of this special bird that I’ve never seen before.
Egídio Leitão
Thanks, Anita. I was surprised to discover it, too. Thanks for your feedback.
SoyBend
What a pretty heron, Egidio! It looks a lot like our green herons.
Egídio Leitão
Siobhan, I must confess that I find a lot of herons very similar. So, in order to identify what I see, I use iNaturalist. It’s a great resource for plants’ and animals’ identification. Thank you for your feedback.