Species: Black-crowned Night Heron


 

S  P  E  C  I  E  S   L  I  S  T

 

Black-crowned Night Heron (Nycticorax nycticorax)

night_heron_juvenileThe black-crowned night heron (Nycticorax nycticorax), commonly abbreviated to just night heron in Eurasia, is a medium-sized heron found throughout a large part of the world, except in the coldest regions and Australasia.

Adults are approximately 64 cm (25 in) long and weigh 800 g (28 oz). They have a black crown and back with the remainder of the body white or grey, red eyes, and short yellow legs. They have pale grey wings and white under parts. Two or three long white plumes, erected in greeting and courtship displays, extend from the back of the head. The sexes are similar in appearance although the males are slightly larger. Black-crowned night herons do not fit the typical body form of the heron family. They are relatively stocky with shorter bills, legs, and necks than their more familiar cousins, the egrets and “day” herons. Their resting posture is normally somewhat hunched but when hunting they extend their necks and look more like other wading birds.

black-crowned night heron,Nycticorax nycticorax,night heron,swimming

Immature birds have dull grey-brown plumage on their heads, wings, and backs, with numerous pale spots. Their underparts are paler and streaked with brown. The young birds have orange eyes and duller yellowish-green legs. They are very noisy birds in their nesting colonies, with calls that are commonly transcribed as quok or woc.

black-crowned night heron,Nycticorax nycticorax,night heron,walking

Night Heron practising for Ministry of Silly Walks

Behaviour

These birds stand still at the water’s edge and wait to ambush prey, mainly at night or early morning. They primarily eat small fish, crustaceans, frogs, aquatic insects, small mammals, reptiles and small birds. During the day they rest in trees or bushes. N. n. hoactli is more gregarious outside the breeding season than the nominate race.
black-crowned night heron,Nycticorax nycticorax,night heron,swimming

Etymology

The scientific name, Nycticorax, means “night raven”, and refers to this species’ nocturnal habits and harsh crow-like call.

In the Falkland Islands, the bird is called “quark”, which is an onomatopoeia similar to its name in many other languages, like “kwak” in Dutch and Frisian, “kvakoš noční” in Czech, “квак” in Ukrainian, “кваква” in Russian, “vạc” in Vietnamese, “kowak-malam” in Indonesian, and “waqwa” in Quechua.

Text: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black-crowned_night_heron
black-crowned night heron,Nycticorax nycticorax,night heron,portrait,plumage

black-crowned night heron,Nycticorax nycticorax,night heron,portrait

black-crowned night heron,Nycticorax nycticorax,night heron,prey

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diving, black-crowned night heron,Nycticorax nycticorax,night heron,hunting

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