The great blue heron is a large wading bird, common near the shores of open water and in wetlands over most of North and Central America, as well as far northwestern South America, the Caribbean and the Galápagos Islands. It is occasionally found in the Azores and is a rare vagrant to Europe. An all-white population found in south Florida and the Florida Keys is known as the great white egret. Debate exists about whether these white birds are simply a colour morph (i.e. differing only in appearance, but belonging to the same species) of the great blue heron, a subspecies of it, or an entirely separate species.

The great blue herons shown here are from the Wakodahatchee Wetlands, in Delray Beach, Florida.