Overview

Black-crowned Night-Heron: Medium-sized, stocky heron with short neck and legs, black upperparts, gray wings, and white to pale gray underparts. Stout black bill, red eyes, and yellow legs. Feeds on small invertebrates, crustaceans, vertebrates, mammals, eggs and young of other birds, and plants.

Range and Habitat

Black-crowned Night-Heron: Breeds throughout the U.S. (except Rocky Mountain region) to southern South America. Spends winters in southern half of U.S. Preferred habitats include swamps, streams, rivers, marshes, mud flats, and the edges of lakes that have become overgrown with rushes and cattails.

Breeding and Nesting

Black-crowned Night-Heron: One to seven pale blue or green eggs are laid in a flimsy platform lined with roots and grass, built near the trunk of a tree or in branches. Usually nests in colonies. Incubation ranges from 21 to 26 days and is carried out by both parents.

Foraging and Feeding

Black-crowned Night-Heron: Usually feeds in the evening or early morning. Diet consists of fish, leeches, earthworms, insects, crayfish, mussels, squid, amphibians, lizards, snakes, rodents, birds, eggs, carrion, plant materials, and garbage at landfills. Usually a solitary forager, it strongly defends its feeding territory.

Vocalization

Black-crowned Night-Heron: Call is a loud, barking "kwok" or "quawk" often heard at night or at dusk. Also utters a variety of croaks, barks, and other harsh calls in nesting colonies.

Similar Species

Black-crowned Night-Heron: Adult is unmistakable; immature may be confused with American Bittern or juvenile Yellow-crowned Night-Heron. American Bittern lacks pale spots on upperwing, has black neck stripe, and more slender, paler bill. Juvenile Yellow-crowned Night-Heron has smaller spots on greater secondary coverts, smaller spots on head and neck, thicker bill, and longer legs.