The Great Blue Heron (Ardea herodias) is a large wading bird in the heron family Ardeidae, common near the shores of open water and in wetlands over most of North and Central America as well as the West Indies and the Galápagos Islands. It is a rare vagrant to Europe, with records from Spain, the Azoresand England. An all-white population found only in the Caribbean and south Florida was once known as a separate species, the Great White Heron.

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