Black Crowned Night Heron
Description
22-27",(Wing span 3'8"). Medium-sized heron. Adult slate-gray with black head, white cheeks, yellowish crown and plumes, black bill,and yellow or orange legs. In flight, feet and part of legs extend beyond tail. Immature grayish brown, finely speckled with white above. Young Black-crowned Night Herons similar but browner, with legs and feet that scarcely project beyond tail in flight.
Voice
A loud squawk!
Habitat
Wooden swamps and coastal thickets.
Nesting
3-5 blue-green eggs in a nest of sticks in a tree or occasionally on the ground. Nesting singly or in small colonies, occasionally with other herons.
Other
As its name implies, this noisy bird is largely nocturnal, beginning to forage at dusk, when other herons are on their way to roosts. Night-herons are less likely to nest in mixed colonies than other herons; when they do, they often keep to themselves in a separate corner.
Picture
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