animals

Well, Well, Well, Looks Like There’s Another Hot Bird in Town

A Great Blue Heron.
A different Great Blue Heron, who’s still hot. Photo: Todd Ryburn/Getty Images

New York City, baby! Sometimes you’re up, sometimes you’re down. Sometimes you’re the hottest water fowl in Central Park, and sometimes you’re merely the second hottest water fowl in Central Park.

After the city spent all fall and winter lusting after the Hot Duck — the mysterious Mandarin duck who became a sensation for both locals and tourists alike — Gothamist reports that there’s a new hot bird in town. Well, not exactly new. The Great Blue Heron has been around, but keeping quiet and staying mostly clear of the paparazzi’s lenses. A photo posted by Rosalie Quinto-Demigo, who tweets under the handle @mitzgami, shows a strikingly beautiful, nearly electric blue bird in repose near the Central Park Pond.

David Barrett, who runs the popular bird-watching account Manhattan Bird Alert, told the Cut that Great Blue Herons are in this area nearly all year, though they pass through in greater numbers when they’re traveling north to breed or back south when they’ve finished breeding. He believes this one has been around the pond since late last year and may also fish in the nearby Central Park Lake.

“We have posted photos and videos of it all winter,” he added. “But it’s a photogenic bird. And there are fewer colorful birds for us to feature in winter.”

The Hot Duck has not responded to requests for comment.

Well, Well, Well, Looks Like There’s Another Hot Bird in NYC