Yellow-crowned Night Heron - Nyctanassa violacea

	Classification  Kingdom: Animalia  Phylum: Chordata  Class: Aves  Order: Ciconiiformes  Family: Ardeidae  Genus: Nyctanassa
ICUN Redlist - World Status: Least Concern

Description

The yellow-crowned night heron is a short, stocky wading bird about 24 inches in length with a wingspan of a little under 4 feet.

It has long yellow to orange legs, red eyes, a black bill, and a short neck. It has a slate gray body, a black head with a white streak on the side of its face, and a yellowish-white crown. In breeding season, it has a yellow plume of feathers on its head. Males and females look alike. Immature yellow-crowned night herons are a mottled grayish-brown.

Range

The yellow-crowned night heron breeds from southern New England south to Florida and west to Texas.

It also breeds along the Mississippi River. It is also found in Mexico, the Caribbean, and Central America.

Habitat

The yellow-crowned night heron lives in wooded swamps, fresh and saltwater marshes, and thickets.

Diet

The yellow-crowned night heron forages for food both in the day and at night. Most of the yellow-crowned night heron's diet is made up of crustaceans like crabs and crayfish. It sometimes eats fish, eels, mussels, frogs, tadpoles, aquatic insects, snails, and small snakes. It either stands and waits for its prey to swim by or wades in the shallow water and slowly stalks its prey.

Life Cycle

The female lays 3-5 eggs on a nest of sticks placed in a tree or sometimes on the ground. Both the male and female build the nest and incubate the eggs. The eggs hatch in about 3 weeks. Both parents care for the chicks and feed them regurgitated food. The chicks fledge when they are about 25 days old.

Behavior

The yellow-crowned night heron is more solitary than other herons. It prefers to nest separately from other birds.