Species

Black-crowned night-heron

Nycticorax nycticorax

A stocky, black-capped heron that hunts at night and roosts by day in dense trees near water.

Photo Unknown photographer (opens in a new tab) / iNaturalist, CC0 1.0 (opens in a new tab)

At a glance

Size: About 58 to 66 cm long
Weight: About 700 to 1,000 g
Habitat: Marshes, swamps, lakes and harbours
Diet: Fish, frogs, crayfish, insects, eggs and chicks
In Georgia: Present all year, more common on the coast
Voice: A loud, flat "quok"
Rabies vector: No

Identification

Adult: Black cap and back; grey wings; white underparts; red eye; short, thick bill; short yellow legs
Young: Brown with white spots on the back and streaked below
Told apart from: Yellow-crowned night-heron, which is greyer with a black-and-white face
Told apart from: American bittern, which is streaked, not spotted, as a young bird
Where to look: Roosting in trees over water by day; hunting at dusk

Behaviour

Black-crowned night-herons hunt from dusk to dawn, standing still at the water's edge. They roost in groups by day and nest in colonies.

Why they matter

This is one of the most widespread herons in the world, found on every continent except Australia and Antarctica. It is an opportunistic predator that also takes eggs and chicks in other birds' colonies.

Reproduction and lifecycle

Nest — A platform of sticks in trees, in colonies
Eggs — Usually three to five
Incubation — About 24 to 26 days
Chicks — Fed by both parents
Flight — At about six weeks
Lifespan — Wild birds over twenty years are recorded

Living around people

A young night-heron on the ground below a colony may have fallen and cannot climb back; it needs a rehabilitator.

Misconceptions

Night-herons are owls. They are herons that hunt at night.

Related species

Seasonal activity

When this species is breeding, and when there are nests on the ground. Mowing during the shaded months is how most nests are found.

Breeding and active nests by month for this species
	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec
Breeding	Jan: no	Feb: no	Mar: no	Apr: no	May: no	Jun: no	Jul: no	Aug: no	Sep: no	Oct: no	Nov: no	Dec: no
Active nests	Jan: no	Feb: no	Mar: no	Apr: no	May: no	Jun: no	Jul: no	Aug: no	Sep: no	Oct: no	Nov: no	Dec: no
Notes	Present	Present	Colonies forming	Nesting	Nesting	Chicks	Young fledging	Young dispersing	Present	Present	Present	Present

Where it lives

Recorded in 88 states and provinces. Each one links to the other animals there, and to the rehabilitators licensed for them.

Canada

If you found one

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