Species Name: Black-crowned Night-Heron (Nycticorax nycticorax)
Length: 28 inches (64 cm)
Description: A stocky, compact bird, with no apparent neck and a large head. Heavy dark beak. Adults are pale gray with white breast and black on black and head.Legs yellow; eyes reddish orange. Head plumes are white. Immature birds are brownish tan, with streaked breasts and white teardrop shaped spots in a regular pattern on the wings. Bill of immature bird is pale yellow at base of lower mandible. A sub adult plumage that resembles a paler version of the adult is held briefly in the second spring.
Range: Breeds throughout most of North America. Winters in southern states and along both coasts, Breeds in Europe, where it is known simply as the Night Heron.
Behavior: Sits patiently on the edge of still water waiting for prey. Primarily a nocturnal feeder, it can sometimes be found in the same locations in daylight. Often tolerates slow approach. Roosts during day in heavy cover, often in trees, where it is overlooked by most people.
Related or Similar Species: The Yellow-crowned Night-Heron (Nyctanassa violacea) is about the same size and shares many of the same habits, but is more limited in range (mostly southeastern US). American Bittern has plumage similar to immature night heron, but is larger and more secretive.
Identification: Adult night herons are easily separated by the overall darker look of the Yellow-crowned and the distinctive head pattern. The Yellow-crowned also appears longer-necked most of the time. Immature Yellow-crowned shows smaller white spots on the wings and lacks the pale base to the lower mandible. In flight the legs of a Yellow-crowned extend farther beyond the trailing edge of the wings than on Black-crowned, but this feature takes experience to detect.
Advice on Finding and Photographing: Scan the edges of marshes and ponds where these birds can blend in to the vegetation. They are most lightly to be found very early or very late in the day. Check for roosting birds in dense evergreen trees near water, looking from as many angles as possible to detect birds near the trunk. Once discovered, approach slowly. Stationary birds can hold position for a long time, so there is usually no rush in composing, and a tripod will help allow stopping down for more depth of field.
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