Striated Heron
Striated Heron

In the mouth of the MANO-RIVER, Otsu-city SHIGA Japan, June 17, 1997.
This bird has a strong resemblance to Night Heron, but the former is smaller and slenderer than the latter. Expecting the bird to come to the MANO-RIVER, at last I confirmed it in June. When I found it, it has already nested, and has a chick. Therefore, the bird came here early without being noticed. "Wild Bird Identification Handbook" by Shinji Takano, Wild Bird Society of Japan, 1980, says the bird is 52 cm long, but it looks smaller. On the other hand, "Concise Bird Name Dictionary" supervised by Tadashi Yoshii, Sanseido, 1989, says it is 40 to 48 cm long. This figure is closer to my impression.
A pair of Striated Herons are nesting lonely on the top of a tree in the mouth of the MANO-RIVER. This makes a contrast with other herons and egrets which usually nest forming groups. There are lots of small fish near the mouth of the river. We can see the Striated Herons eagerly catch fish there.

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