Goliath Heron (Ardea goliath). Lake Panic. Skukuza. Kruger National Park. Mpumalanga. South Africa. This is the world's largest heron. The height is 120–152 cm (47–60 in), the wingspan is 185–230 cm (73–91 in) and the weight is 4–5 kg (8.8–11 lbs). In flight it has a slow and rather ponderous look and, unlike some other herons, its legs are not held horizontally. Male and female look similar, with an overall covering of slate gray and chestnut feathers. The head and its bushy crest, face, back and sides of the neck are chestnut. The chin, throat, foreneck and upper breast are white, with black streaks across the foreneck and upper breast. The lower breast and belly are buff with black streaks. The upper mandible is black and the lores and orbital areas are yellow with a greenish tinge. The eyes are yellow and legs and feet are black. Juveniles look similar to the adults, but are paler. Important habitats are lakes, swamps, mangrove wetlands and sometimes river deltas. Goliath Herons feed on fish, frogs, small mammals and insects. It is a diurnal and often a rather inactive feeder, this heron hunts by standing in the shallows, or on floating vegetation, intently watching the water at its feet. As prey appears, the heron rapidly spears it with open mandibles. Its breeding season is from November to March. These birds build a large stick nest in trees overhanging water, on the ground and in low bushes.
{"Image ImageDescription": "Goliath Heron (Ardea goliath). Lake Panic. Skukuza. Kruger National Park. Mpumalanga. South Africa. This is the world's largest heron. The height is 120\u2013152 cm (47\u201360 in), the wingspan is 185\u2013230 cm (73\u201391 in) and the weight is 4\u20135 kg (8.8\u201311 lbs). In flight it has a slow and rather ponderous look and, unlike some other herons, its legs are not held horizontally. Male and female look similar, with an overall covering of slate gray and chestnut feathers. The head and its bushy crest, face, back and sides of the neck are chestnut. The chin, throat, foreneck and upper breast are white, with black streaks across the foreneck and upper breast. The lower breast and belly are buff with black streaks. The upper mandible is black and the lores and orbital areas are yellow with a greenish tinge. The eyes are yellow and legs and feet are black. Juveniles look similar to the adults, but are paler. Important habitats are lakes, swamps, mangrove wetlands and sometimes river deltas. Goliath Herons feed on fish, frogs, small mammals and insects. It is a diurnal and often a rather inactive feeder, this heron hunts by standing in the shallows, or on floating vegetation, intently watching the water at its feet. As prey appears, the heron rapidly spears it with open mandibles.\\nIts breeding season is from November to March. These birds build a large stick nest in trees overhanging water, on the ground and in low bushes.", "Image Make": "NIKON CORPORATION", "Image Model": "NIKON D3X", "Image XResolution": "72", "Image YResolution": "72", "Image ResolutionUnit": "Pixels/Inch", "Image Software": "Adobe Photoshop Lightroom Classic 10.1.1 (Macintosh)", "Image DateTime": "2021:02:24 12:35:22", "Image Artist": "Roger de la Harpe", "Image YCbCrPositioning": "Centered", "Image Copyright": "All Rights Reserved (\u00a9) 2021: Roger de la Harpe", "Image ExifOffset": "1780", "EXIF ExposureTime": "1/500", "EXIF ExposureProgram": "Program Normal", "EXIF ISOSpeedRatings": "400", "EXIF ExifVersion": "0232", "EXIF DateTimeOriginal": "2010:09:23 15:45:36", "EXIF DateTimeDigitized": "2010:09:23 15:45:36", "EXIF ComponentsConfiguration": "YCbCr", "EXIF ApertureValue": "40761/8200", "EXIF ExposureBiasValue": "-1/3", "EXIF SubjectDistance": "354/5", "EXIF MeteringMode": "Pattern", "EXIF LightSource": "Fine weather", "EXIF Flash": "Flash did not fire", "EXIF FocalLength": "550", "EXIF SubSecTimeDigitized": "00", "EXIF FlashPixVersion": "0100", "EXIF ColorSpace": "sRGB", "EXIF SensingMethod": "One-chip color area", "EXIF ExposureMode": "Auto Exposure", "EXIF WhiteBalance": "Manual", "EXIF DigitalZoomRatio": "1", "EXIF SceneCaptureType": "Standard", "EXIF GainControl": "Low gain up", "EXIF Contrast": "Normal", "EXIF Saturation": "Normal", "EXIF Sharpness": "Normal", "EXIF SubjectDistanceRange": "0", "EXIF BodySerialNumber": "5005450", "EXIF LensModel": "200.0-400.0 mm f/4.0"}