| This sedentary bird is almost impossible to mistake for any other species in Barcelona. A very large bird with long legs, it uses its very long, powerful beak to spear fish and amphibians. It has greyish upperparts and whitish underparts. The adult also sports an ornamental black nape plume. Herons are colonial birds and build their nests using branches high up in trees. A wild heronry has existed in Barcelona Zoo since the 1970s, and at present its more than 100 pairs is the largest in Catalonia and the most important urban colony in Europe. The Zoo heronry is enriched with other nesting species including cattle egret (Bubulcus
ibis) and white egret (Egretta
garzetta). |
