Black-Crowned Night Heron [Nycticorax Nycticorax]

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In this video, we learn about the black-crowned night heron, commonly referred to as the night heron.
Quick facts:
• Lifespan: 20 years
• Average size: 62 cm (24 in)
• Average weight: 870 g (30 oz)
• Average wingspan: 117 cm (46 in)
• Family: Ardeidae
• Subscpecies:
- N. n. hoactli
- N. n. obscures
- N. n. falklandicus
- N. n. nycticorax
Description:
The black-crowned night heron is an attractive bird. Its plumage is black, grey, and white with darker upperparts and lighter underparts. It bears a distinctive black crown for which it is named. Long white plumes extend from the back of the head.
Unlike other herons, night herons are stocky birds with short necks, and short yellow legs. They have sharp black bills and striking red eyes. Males are slightly larger than females. The young are brownish-grey with light spots.
Vocalisations:
Night herons are vocal birds and are especially noisy within their nesting colonies. The call is a loud, harsh, squawky kwok or kwark.
Distribution:
Black-crowned night herons have a wide range, with the various sub-species breeding in different parts of the world from the Americas to Europe, Asia, and Africa. Northern populations are migratory, moving south for the winter.
Fun Fact:
A colony of night herons has been spending summers at the National Zoo in Washington for over a century.
Habitat:
Night herons inhabit a wide range of fresh and saltwater environments, including wetlands, marshes, swamps, estuaries, mangroves, mudflats, lakes, rivers, ponds, canals, and streams.
Among their habitat requirements are suitable trees for roosting and nesting. They are an adaptable species and have been observed in agricultural fields and even in the suburbs of large cities.
Diet:
Night herons mainly eat small fish, amphibians, crustaceans, and aquatic insects. But they are also known to prey on small mammals and birds. They are ambush predators, hunting mainly at night or early morning.
They stand still at the water edge and wait for their prey. Like other herons, they also engage in bait fishing. They toss objects into water to lure their prey.
Reproduction:
Black-crowned herons nest in low trees or shrubs usually overhanging the water’s edge. They build platform nests out of sticks, twigs, and reeds and line them with softer materials like grass and roots.
Females lay up to seven pale green or blue eggs. Both parents incubate the eggs for around 25 days.
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