Species: Nycticorax nycticorax

Black-crowned Night-Heron
Species

    especially at dusk or after dark.

    Kingdom
    Animalia
    Phylum
    Craniata
    Class

    Aves

    Order

    Ciconiiformes

    Family

    Ardeidae

    Genus

    Nycticorax

    Classification
    Other Global Common Names
    Garça-Dorminhoca - Pedrete Corona Negra, Garza Bruja - bihoreau gris
    Informal Taxonomy
    Animals, Vertebrates - Birds - Wading Birds
    Formal Taxonomy
    Animalia - Craniata - Aves - Ciconiiformes - Ardeidae - Nycticorax - Constitutes a superspecies with N. CALEDONICUS (AOU 1998).

    especially at dusk or after dark.

    Migration
    true - true - true - Arrives in northern breeding areas March-May, departs by September-November. Extensive postbreeding dispersal to areas outside breeding range (Palmer 1962).
    Non-migrant
    true
    Locally Migrant
    true
    Food Comments
    Feeds opportunistically on small animals; usually fishes, amphibians, and invertebrates obtained in shallow water but also small mammals and young birds on land.
    Reproduction Comments
    Breeding season varies geographically, occurs in spring-early summer in north, earlier in Florida. Clutch size usually is 3-5 in north, 2-4 in south. Incubation lasts apparently 24-26 days, by both sexes. Young are tended by both sexes, first fly at about 42 days. Usually first breeds at 2-3 years. Nests in small to large colonies. See Custer et al. (1983) for data on certain Atlantic coast colonies.
    Length
    64
    Weight
    883
    NatureServe Global Status Rank
    G5
    Global Status Last Reviewed
    1996-11-20
    Global Status Last Changed
    1996-11-20
    Other Status

    LC - Least concern

    Conservation Status Map
    <img src="http://www.natureserve.org/explorer/servlet/GetMapGif?CA.AB=S2&CA.BC=__&CA.MB=S3&CA.NB=S1&CA.NS=S1&CA.ON=S3&CA.PE=__&CA.QC=S4&CA.SK=S5&US.AL=S3&US.AZ=S3&US.AR=S2&US.CA=S3&US.CO=S3&US.CT=S2&US.DE=S1&US.DC=S3&US.FL=S3&US.GA=S4&US.HI=SU&US.ID=S2&US.IL=S2&US.IN=S1&US.IA=S3&US.KS=S2&US.KY=S1&US.LA=S5&US.ME=S2&US.MD=S3&US.MA=S2&US.MI=S2&US.MN=SNR&US.MS=S3&US.MO=S3&US.MT=S3&US.NN=S1&US.NE=S3&US.NV=S5&US.NH=SH&US.NJ=S2&US.NM=S4&US.NY=S3&US.NC=S4&US.ND=SNR&US.OH=S1&US.OK=S3&US.OR=S4&US.PA=S2&US.RI=S2&US.SC=SNR&US.SD=S3&US.TN=S2&US.TX=S4&US.UT=S3&US.VT=S1&US.VA=S3&US.WA=S3&US.WV=SH&US.WI=S2&US.WY=S3" alt="Conservation Status Map" style="width: 475px; height: auto;" />
    Global Range
    H - >2,500,000 square km (greater than 1,000,000 square miles) - H - BREEDS: Washington, southern Idaho, Saskatchewan, Michigan, and Nova Scotia south to southern South America, including Antilles; also Hawaii (Niihau to Hawaii). See Spendelow and Patton (1988) for information on distribution and abundance of coastal U.S. breeding populations (most coastal breeders are along Gulf Coast and Atlantic coast north of Florida). NORTHERN WINTER: north to Oregon, Utah, New Mexico, Texas, lower Ohio Valley, Gulf Coast, and southern New England. In the U.S., the highest winter densities occur in the vicinity of inland wildlife refuges near the California-Oregon border, along the northern California coast (Humboldt Bay), in the San Joaquin Valley of California, along the lower Colorado River, near Galveston Bay in Texas, and along the coast near Jacksonville, Florida (Root 1988). Also occurs in the Old World and on other Pacific islands.
    Global Range Code
    H
    Global Range Description
    >2,500,000 square km (greater than 1,000,000 square miles)
    ELEMENT_GLOBAL.2.104974