The lifespan of herons in nature is 10-15 years, up to a maximum of 23. The incubation period lasts 28-33 days, both birds incubate. Nestlings appear in the light sighted, but bare, in a week they cover with an inaccurate rare fluff. Parents regurgitate fish, but forage at one time is not enough for everyone, food gets first and foremost the strongest.
Because of this, in the brood of herons in the hungry years, one chick survives, and in years rich in fodder, two or three. In addition to lack of food, chicks often die, going to travel on branches, while they fall to the ground or fall into the fork in the fork and suffocate. Learning to fly (after about 55 days), the chicks form family groups with their parents. Sexual maturity they reach to 2 years.
Herons are spread all over the world, and probably even a child knows how the heron looks like. They can be seen on all continents, and some species also live on the islands. Not a word about the heron is spoken only in the Northern Hemisphere and Antarctica.
Where herons did not live, they are tied to water, most often birds are found in swamps, rivers, meadows, lakes, rivers and thickets. In large reservoirs, a heron can be found rarely, but still possible.
