Little Blue Heron, about to swallow
Egretta caerulea
Little Blue Heron · Staten Island · 5 July 2026
A Little Blue Heron with a frog gripped crosswise in its bill on a Staten Island pond, working out how to turn it head-first. Swallowing anything this size sideways would risk a leg or an elbow catching in the throat.
The frog is still very much alive at this point, legs spread and straining against the bill. Little Blue Herons hunt by wading slowly and deliberately rather than standing and waiting, which is how this one got close enough to a well-grown frog to take it.
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