Black-crowned night-heron Nycticorax nycticorax
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Identification Tips:
Length: 20 inches Wingspan: 44 inches
Sexes similar
Fairly small, stocky, short-legged and short-necked heron
Bill medium-sized and pointed
Tucks neck in close to body in flight and at rest, rarely extending it
Adult:
Red eyes, legs yellow
Black bill
Black crown and back
White face, throat, foreneck, chest and belly
Blue-gray wings
Two long, white, filamentous plumes extending from back of head in alternate plumage
Juvenile:
Eyes yellowish to amber, legs dull greyish
Yellow base to bill
Brown head, neck, chest and belly streaked with buff and white
Wings and back darker brown with large white spots at the tips of the feathers; spots especially large on the greater secondary coverts
Immature:
Acquires full adult plumage in its third year
First year birds are similar to juvenile, but have less extensive spotting on upperwings and a dark cap
Second year birds resemble the adult, but have a brown neck and wings contrasting with darker brown cap and back
Similar species:
Adults are unmistakable. Immatures can be separated from American Bittern by pale spotting on the upperwing, lack of black neck spot, different shape, stouter bills and more even upperwing coloration in flight. Juvenile Yellow-crowned Night-Heron has smaller spots on greater secondary coverts, smaller spots on head and neck, thicker bill, and longer legs. Immature Black Crowns can show a variety of plumage characters so are best separated from immature Yellow-crowns by their smaller, thinner bill and shorter legs.