Green Heron (Butorides virescens)


Group	Bitterns and Herons
Code	ABNGA08010
Order	Ciconiiformes
Family	Ardeidae
Author	(Linnaeus, 1758)
Rank	G5 (definitions)
Occurrence	LM (definitions)
Scale	N (definitions)

County List:


Western UP	all
Eastern UP	Luce, Schoolcraft, Chippewa
Northern LP	all
Southern LP	all

Rule:

Forested or Nonforested Landscapes

Foraging and Nesting Habitat Requirements may be distributed over the NEIGHBORHOOD 

Foraging Habitat 1st alternative:
      (Lake or Pond or River)
   adjacent to:
      (Any Emergent Wetland or Lowland Brush) 

Foraging Habitat 2nd alternative:
      Any Emergent Wetland 
      or Lowland Brush

Nesting Habitat 1st alternative:
      Lowland Brush

Nesting Habitat 2nd alternative:
      (Any Lowland Deciduous (Sm Saw or Lg Saw or Uneven)) 
      or (Mixed Lowland Hardwoods (Sm Saw or Lg Saw or Uneven))
   containing:
      Stand/Gap Openings

Nesting Habitat 3rd alternative:
      (Any Lowland Deciduous (Sm Saw or Lg Saw or Uneven)) 
      or (Mixed Lowland Hardwoods (Sm Saw or Lg Saw or Uneven))
   adjacent to:
      (Lake or Pond or River)
      or Edge

view decision rule term definitions

Habitat List:

Habitats	Regen	Sap	Pole	Sm Saw	Lg Saw	Uneven
Aspen	no	no	no	no	no	-
Paper Birch	no	no	no	no	no	-
Oak	no	no	no	no	no	no
Assorted Hardwoods	no	no	no	no	no	no
Northern Hardwoods	no	no	no	no	no	no
Spruce/Fir	no	no	no	no	no	no
Hemlock	no	no	no	no	no	no
Jack Pine	no	no	no	no	no	no
Red Pine	no	no	no	no	no	no
White Pine	no	no	no	no	no	no
Conifer Plantations	no	no	no	no	no	-
Mixed Upland Hardwoods	no	no	no	no	no	no
Mixed Northern Hardwoods	no	no	no	no	no	no
Mixed Upland Conifer	no	no	no	no	no	no
Mixed Pine	no	no	no	no	no	no
Swamp Hardwoods	no	no	no	YES	YES	YES
Balsam Poplar & Swamp Aspen & Swamp Birch	no	no	no	YES	YES	YES
Bottomland Hardwoods	no	no	no	YES	YES	YES
Tamarack	no	no	no	no	no	no
Northern White Cedar	no	no	no	no	no	no
Black Spruce	no	no	no	no	no	no
Mixed Lowland Hardwoods	no	no	no	YES	YES	YES
Mixed Lowland Conifer	no	no	no	no	no	no
Non-Forested	Lake, Pond, River, Marsh 1, Marsh 2 (MARSH), Lowland Brush
Special Features	Edges, Riparian, Stand (Gap) Openings

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Literature:

Chu, P. C. 1991. Green-backed Heron. Pages 114-115 In: R. Brewer, G. A. McPeek, and R. J. Adams, Jr. (eds.) The atlas of breeding birds of Michigan. Michigan State University Press, East Lansing. 594 pp.

Habitat: Green-backed Herons usually nest in wetland shrubs and trees. The nest is most often located in thick scrub, though in areas with dense understory vegetation, nests may be placed in taller trees. Woodland edge habitats are favored as nesting sites and the interior of large stands, even bottomland forests, is not used.

DeGraaf, R. M. and D. D. Rudis. 1986. New England wildlife: habitat, natural history, and distribution. GTR NE-108. Broomall, PA:USDA, Forest Service, Northeastern Forest Experiment Station. 491 pp.

Habitat: Breeding: Widely distributed, makes use of nearly all fresh water habitats: ponds, lakes, rivers, streams, sloughs, marshes, wooded swamps, wet meadows.

Kaufman, K. 1996. Lives of North American Birds. Houghton Mifflin Company, Boston, Massachusetts. 675 pp.

Habitat: Lakes, ponds, marshes, swamps, streamsides. May be found foraging in practically any aquatic habitat, but most common around small bodies of fresh water, especially those lined with trees, shrubs, tall marsh vegetation. Nests in a wide variety of situations, including willow thickets, mangroves, dry woods, open marsh.

Nest: Site is usually in shrub or tree 5-30 feet above ground but sometimes on ground; often very close to water but can be quite distant.