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| Black-Crowned Night Heron |
In two previous posts we looked at how to identify
white and
non-white herons; here we want to consider Night Herons. Night herons are typically chunkier herons with short, thick necks and short legs. They are called Night Herons mostly because of their nocturnal feeding habits, eating mostly at dusk and night. Adults tend to be black, grey and white, while immature Night Herons tend to be brown with white spots and streaks. There are two species of Night Herons that are found in the United States.
Black-Crowned Night Heron
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| Black-Crowned Night Heron |
Black-Crowned Night Herons are easily identified by their "chunky" look and black crown. They also have a black stripe down their backs and yellowish legs. Immature Black-Crowned Night Herons are brown with white spots on the wings and a light belly with brown streaks.
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| Immature Black-Crowned Night Heron Yawning |
Yellow-Crowned Night Heron
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| Yellow-Crowned Night Heron |
Yellow-Crowned Night Herons have darker wings than Black-Crowned, and they have a black throat and face with a white cheek and a yellowish-white crown, though to my color-blind eyes, the crown looks basically white.
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| Yellow-Crowned Night Heron |
Night Herons may not be very colorful, but what they lack in color they make up for in stately beauty. When I was a beginning birder, I looked and looked for these birds, and for some reason I found all the other herons and bitterns before I found these. Maybe because of this, they are still special birds for me, and I relish every opportunity to observe them.
These ID posts are *very* helpful. Thank you!(Cindy @gemswinc)
ReplyDeleteCool shots. The Yellow-Crowned was a nemesis bird for me for a long time too. I braved fetid marshes and dark swamps looking for it, and then finally found some late at night by the drainage pond near my apartment.
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing.
P.S. I often wonder with the Night Herons, as well as Green Herons, where do their necks go when they're withdrawn?
Thanks for the compliments! Yes, I wonder too about those necks. It's amazing how they apparently disappear.
ReplyDeleteLovely photos. Oddly, I have watched Black-crowned night herons in broad daylight in both New York City and Dallas, Texas! In NYC, last summer, there were three: an adult, a first-year juvenile, and a second-year or beyond. It was quite wonderful! I look forward to a Yellow-crowned sometime soon.
ReplyDeleteGreat shots! Capturing birds image is just so difficult but this is great job.
ReplyDelete