Black-crowned Night-Heron

Nycticorax nycticoraxOrder: CICONIIFORMES Family: Bitterns, Herons and Egrets (Ardeidae)

Codes: Common Name: BCNH Scientific Name: NYCNYC ITIS Taxonomic No.: 174832

Breeding Location:

Lakes, Forest edge, Marshes, freshwater, Swamps, Rivers

Breeding Type:

Monogamous, Colonial

Breeding Population:

Stable or increasing in most areas

Egg Color:

Pale green or light blue

Number of Eggs:

1 - 7

Incubation Days:

21 - 26

Egg Incubator:

Both sexes

Nest Material:

Sticks, twigs, and reeds.

Migration:

Migratory

General

Black-crowned Night-Heron: Medium-sized, stocky heron with short neck and legs, black upperparts, gray wings, and white to pale gray underparts. Bill is stout and black, eyes are red, and legs are yellow. Sexes are similar. Breeding adult develops long white plumes on back of head and red legs. Juvenile has brown, white-streaked upperparts, white, brown-streaked underparts, and yellow-green legs.

Range and Habitat

Black-crowned Night-Heron: Breeds throughout the U.S. (except Rocky Mountain region) to southern South America. Spends winters in southern half of U.S. Preferred habitats include swamps, streams, rivers, marshes, mud flats, and the edges of lakes that have become overgrown with rushes and cattails.

Breeding and Nesting

Black-crowned Night-Heron: One to seven pale blue or green eggs are laid in a flimsy platform lined with roots and grass, built near the trunk of a tree or in branches. Usually nests in colonies. Incubation ranges from 21 to 26 days and is carried out by both parents.

Foraging and Feeding

Black-crowned Night-Heron: Usually feeds in the evening or early morning. Diet consists of fish, leeches, earthworms, insects, crayfish, mussels, squid, amphibians, lizards, snakes, rodents, birds, eggs, carrion, plant materials, and garbage at landfills. Usually a solitary forager, it strongly defends its feeding territory.

Vocalization

Black-crowned Night-Heron: Call is a loud, barking "kwok" or "quawk" often heard at night or at dusk. Also utters a variety of croaks, barks, and other harsh calls in nesting colonies.

Similar Species

Black-crowned Night-Heron: Adult is unmistakable; immature may be confused with American Bittern or juvenile Yellow-crowned Night-Heron. American Bittern lacks pale spots on upperwing, has black neck stripe, and more slender, paler bill. Juvenile Yellow-crowned Night-Heron has smaller spots on greater secondary coverts, smaller spots on head and neck, thicker bill, and longer legs.

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Bird Call Credits: The Macaulay Library of Natural Sounds at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology. Martyn Stewart, http://www.naturesound.org, Redmond, Washington USA. The reuse or copying of bird calls in this database is strictly forbidden.

Black-crowned Night-Heron

Black-crowned Night-Heron: Medium-sized, stocky heron with short neck and legs, black upperparts, gray wings, and white to pale gray underparts. Stout black bill, red eyes, and yellow legs. Feeds on small invertebrates, crustaceans, vertebrates, mammals, eggs and young of other birds, and plants.

● Song: Low and harsh., Sounds like woe, quock, or quaik.

● Foraging & Feeding: Black-crowned Night-Heron: Usually feeds in the evening or early morning. Diet consists of fish, leeches, earthworms, insects, crayfish, mussels, squid, amphibians, lizards, snakes, rodents, birds, eggs, carrion, plant materials, and garbage at landfills. Usually a solitary forager, it strongly defends its feeding territory.

● Breeding & nesting: Black-crowned Night-Heron: One to seven pale blue or green eggs are laid in a flimsy platform lined with roots and grass, built near the trunk of a tree or in branches. Usually nests in colonies. Incubation ranges from 21 to 26 days and is carried out by both parents.

● Similar species: Black-crowned Night-Heron: Adult is unmistakable; immature may be confused with American Bittern or juvenile Yellow-crowned Night-Heron. American Bittern lacks pale spots on upperwing, has black neck stripe, and more slender, paler bill. Juvenile Yellow-crowned Night-Heron has smaller spots on greater secondary coverts, smaller spots on head and neck, thicker bill, and longer legs.

Flight Pattern

Direct flight with slow steady wing beats.

Black-crowned Night-Heron Body Illustration

● Range & Habitat: Black-crowned Night-Heron: Breeds throughout the U.S. (except Rocky Mountain region) to southern South America. Spends winters in southern half of U.S. Preferred habitats include swamps, streams, rivers, marshes, mud flats, and the edges of lakes that have become overgrown with rushes and cattails.

^BreedingMonogamous, Colonial

^PopulationStable or increasing in most areas

^MigrationMigratory

^Weight30.4 Ounces

Underparts

Belly, undertail coverts, chest, flanks, and foreneck.

Upperparts

Back, rump, hindneck, wings, and crown.

Plumes

Large, conspicuous, showy feathers.

4 and 6 letter alpha codes

The four letter common name alpha code is is derived from the first two letters of the common first name and the first two letters of common last name. The six letter species name alpha code is derived from the first three letters of the scientific name (genus) and the first three letters of the scientific name (species). See (1) below for the rules used to create the codes..

Four-letter (for English common names) and six-letter (for scientific names) species alpha codes were developed by Pyle and DeSante (2003, North American Bird-Bander 28:64-79) to reflect A.O.U. taxonomy and nomenclature (A.O.U. 1998) as modified by Supplements 42 (Auk 117:847-858, 2000) and 43 (Auk 119:897-906, 2002). The list has been updated by Pyle and DeSante to reflect changes reported by the A.O.U from 2003 through 2006.

Field Guide to Birds of North America