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Whistling Heron - South America [View all]
Thiago Calil
Gustavo Duran
''The Whistling Heron remains an enigmatic species. It is a bird of dry to damp grasslands, like several other herons, and so has specialized morphology to accommodate a semi-terrestrial way of life. It Walks and Stands, as would be expected of a grassland heron, and takes what it can capture. However, its ecology is rather distinctive, being sedentary and appearing to maintain family groups. Its calls and exuberant behaviour at the roost are unusual among herons. Furthermore, the prolonged dependence of young on adults is decidedly unheron-like. Explanations may be the need to teach foraging, but such dependence in other species suggests a saturated habitat and maybe young birds face difficulty in establishing their own territory. Given the difference of this family life to that of most herons, the species is likely to also show unique demography and social structure. It is reported that some local people do not think of the species as a heron, so it likely is more biologically interesting than is now known.''
https://www.heronconservation.org/herons-of-the-world/list-of-herons/whistling-heron/
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