Black-crowned Night Heron Images and Information:
Nycticorax nycticorax
- Black-crowned Night Herons are short, stocky herons with thick necks and heavy, pointed black bills.
- Adults have soft gray plumage with a black back, red eyes and a black crown. Immature Black-crowned Night Herons are primarily brown with large white spots on the wings and blurry streaks on their underparts and have orange colored eyes.
- They are one of the most wide spread heron species in the world and are on every continent except Australia and Antarctica.
- Preferred habit for Black-crowned Night Herons are wetlands that include fresh and saltwater marshes, streams, lakes, ponds, swamps, tidal mudflats, lagoons, rivers, reservoirs, wet agricultural fields and rivers.
- Black-crowned Night Herons are opportunistic feeders, their diet includes insects, crayfish, clams, mussels, fish, leeches, earthworms, amphibians, lizards, snakes, turtles, rodents, birds, and eggs. They will also consume carrion.
- Black-crowned Night Herons are colonial nesters.
- Black-crowned Night Herons will lay 1 to 7 eggs which take 21 to 26 days to hatch. Both sexes incubate and are monogamous.
- A group of herons can be called a “rookery”, “scattering”, “battery” and “hedge” of herons.
- Black-crowned Night Herons can live up to 21 years.
I hope you enjoy viewing my Black-crowned Night Heron photos.
An even bigger yawn from a Black-crowned Night Heron!
Title: An even bigger yawn from a Black-crowned Night Heron!
Location: Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge, Box Elder County, Utah
Date: 5/15/2010
Yawning Black-crowned Night Heron
Title: Yawning Black-crowned Night Heron
Location: Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge, Box Elder County, Utah
Date: 5/15/2010
Black-crowned Night Heron adult in morning light
Title: Black-crowned Night Heron adult in morning light
Location: Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge, Box Elder County, Utah
Date: 5/15/2010
Black-crowned Night Heron adult
Title: Black-crowned Night Heron adult
Location: Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge, Box Elder County, Utah
Date: 5/15/2010
Stalking immature Black-crowned Night Heron
Title: Stalking immature Black-crowned Night Heron
Location: Farmington Bay WMA, Davis County, Utah
Date: 9/24/2009
Black-crowned Night Heron and its large red eyes
Title: Black-crowned Night Heron and its large red eyes
Location: Indian Shores, Pinellas County, Florida
Date: 2/7/2009
Black-crowned Night Heron portrait against the sky
Title: Black-crowned Night Heron portrait against the sky
Location: Indian Shores, Pinellas County, Florida
Date: 2/7/2009
Head on portrait of a Black-crowned night Heron
Title: Head on portrait of a Black-crowned night Heron
Location: Indian Shores, Pinellas County, Florida
Date: 2/7/2009
Adult Black-crowned Night Heron Portrait
Title: Adult Black-crowned Night Heron Portrait
Location: Indian Shores, Pinellas County, Florida
Date: 2/7/2009
Black-crowned Night Heron portrait
Title: Black-crowned Night Heron portrait
Location: Indian Shores, Pinellas County, Florida
Date: 2/7/2009
Comparing Black-crowned and Yellow-crowned Night Heron juveniles
Title: Comparing Black-crowned and Yellow-crowned Night Heron juveniles
Location: Farmington Bay WMA, Davis County, Utah and Fort De Soto County Park, Pinellas County, Florida
Side by side comparison
Dates: 1/4/2013 (BCNH) and 7/18/2008 (YCNH)
Comparing Black-crowned and Yellow-crowned Night Heron adults
Title: Comparing Black-crowned and Yellow-crowned Night Heron adults
Location: Bear River National Wildlife Refuge, Box Elder County, Utah and Fort De Soto County Park, Pinellas County, Florida
Side by side comparison
Dates: 5/15/2010 (BCNH) and 4/18/2008 (YCNH)