Black-crowned Night-Heron

The Black-crowned Night-Heron is a compact, thick-necked heron with a glossy black cap and back contrasting against pale grey wings and a whitish underside. Adults have striking red eyes and, during the breeding season, grow two or three long, slender white plumes trailing from the back of the head. Juveniles look quite different, being brown and heavily streaked with white spots, resembling a large brown bittern.

As its name suggests, this species is primarily crepuscular and nocturnal, spending much of the day roosting quietly in trees before becoming active at dusk to forage.

Key field marks

• Glossy black crown and back contrasting with pale grey wings
• White underparts and red eyes
• Stocky, short-necked, hunched posture
• Juveniles: brown with heavy white spotting and streaking, lacking the adult's black-and-grey pattern

Similar species

• Yellow-crowned Night-Heron: adult has an entirely grey body with a black-and-white striped face and a yellowish crown, rather than the solid black cap of this species
• Green Heron (juvenile Black-crowned): larger and more heavily streaked than the smaller, chestnut-necked Green Heron

Juvenile night-herons of the two species are best separated by leg length and bill shape, with Yellow-crowned Night-Herons having longer legs and a stouter bill.

Range and habitat

Black-crowned Night-Herons have one of the widest distributions of any heron, found on every continent except Australia and Antarctica, inhabiting freshwater and brackish marshes, ponds, riverbanks, and coastal wetlands.

Migration

Northern populations migrate south in winter to escape freezing conditions, while populations in warmer climates are generally resident, roosting communally in dense vegetation near foraging wetlands year-round.

Behavior

Largely nocturnal and crepuscular, Black-crowned Night-Herons spend daylight hours roosting quietly, often in large communal groups in trees, becoming active at dusk to fly out and forage individually along shorelines.

Voice

The most common call is a short, harsh "quawk," frequently given in flight, especially at dusk as birds leave the roost.

Feeding

They feed opportunistically on fish, amphibians, small mammals, insects, and occasionally the eggs or chicks of other colonial waterbirds, typically hunting by standing motionless at the water's edge and striking quickly.

Nesting and breeding

Black-crowned Night-Herons nest colonially, often in mixed colonies with other herons and egrets, building stick nests in trees or shrubs; both parents share incubation of three to five pale bluish-green eggs.