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| Wetlands & Waterfowl's Guide to North American Waterfowl: | |||
| Click to load: American Bittern American Widgeon Black- Crowned Night Heron Black Duck Blue-Winged Teal Canada Goose Canvasback Cattle Egret Common Egret Cinnamon Teal Gadwall Great Blue Heron Great Egret Green-Winged Teal Greater Scaup Lesser Scaup Mallard Mute Swan Northern Pintail Northern Shoveler Redhead Ring-Necked Snowy Egret Snow Goose Trumpeter Swan Wood Duck |
Black-Crowned Night Heron Scroll down for details  Scientific Name: Nycticorax
nycticorax Habitat: Wooded Swamps, rivers, marshes Appearance: 23-28" long. Stocky, heavy body, short thick neck, short legs. Adult has black crown and back, pair white plumes at crest, wings grey, belly white. Food: crustaceans, mollusks, and amphibians Nesting: Nest is a mass of reeds and sticks in reeds by marsh and up to 160 ft above ground in trees. Female lays 1-6 pale bluish green eggs which are incubated by both parents for 24-26 days. Young are downy, leave nest 6-7 weeks after hatching. Usually Nest in colonies. |
The Black-Crowned Night heron is an aptly named
bird. They are inactive by day, spending their time in the rookery, roosting in trees. But
as night falls, the Black-Crowned Night Heron emerges and can be heard making its loud,
croak-like call. The Black-Crowned Night Heron's scientific name, Nycticorax- "Night
Raven" stems from its croaking cry. They often make their nests high in the trees,
yet their nests are haphazzardly built by piling sticks and twigs on a supporting branch.
Because the nests are not secured, it is common to see many eggs, young and whole nests
blown out of the trees by a mild storm. Additional Photographs: |
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