The cocoi heron (Ardea cocoi) is a species of long-legged wading bird in the heron family Ardeidae found across South America. It has predominantly pale grey plumage with a darker grey crest. A carnivore, it hunts fish and crustaceans in shallow water.
Taxonomy and evolution
The cocoi heron was originally described by Carl Linnaeus in his 1766 12th edition of Systema Naturae.
The cocoi heron forms a superspecies with the similar Afro-Eurasian grey heron and North and Central American great blue heron, with all of these species showing similar skeletal morphology.
The origin of its species name is unknown, but may be related to the common name in Chile cuca, which in turn denotes the bird's call note. It is more widely known in South America as garza mora or "black heron".
