Nyctanassa violacea
| Yellow-crowned night heron | |
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| At a pond in Tarpon Springs, Florida | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Aves |
| Subclass: | Neornithes |
| Infraclass: | Neognathae |
| Superorder: | Neoaves |
| Order: | Pelecaniformes (pelicans, herons and ibises) |
| Family: | Ardeidae (egrets, herons, bitterns) |
| Genus: | Nyctanassa |
| Species: | N. violacea |
| Binomial name | |
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Nyctanassa violacea (Linnaeus, 1758) |
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| Range of N. violacea Breeding range Year-round range Wintering range | |
| Synonyms | |
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Nycticorax violaceus |
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Nycticorax violaceus
The yellow-crowned night heron (Nyctanassa violacea, formerly in the genus Nycticorax), is one of two species of night herons found in the Americas, the other one being the black-crowned night heron. It is known as the Bihoreau Violacé in French and the Pedrete Corona Clara in Spanish.
A related heron, the Bermuda night heron, was endemic to Bermuda, but became extinct following human colonisation.
The yellow-crowned night heron is a rather stocky wading bird, ranging from 55 to 70 cm (1 ft 10 in–2 ft 4 in) and from 650 to 850 g (1.43–1.87 lb), the females being a little smaller than the males. The neck, slim when extended, gives the bird a comically large head compared to its body, with a large and heavy bill.
The body and back are a smooth grey-blue, with a black scaled pattern on the wings. The long legs are yellow and turn coral, pink or red during courtship. The most characteristic part of the yellow-crowned night heron is the head: black and glossy, with white cheeks and a pale yellow crown going from the bill, between the eyes and to the back of the head, giving the bird its common name. Such colours make the face appear striped in a horizontal black-white-black-white pattern. Long, thin, white feathers grow to the back of the crown during mating season. The bill, also black, is thick and deeply set under the eyes which are dark orange or red.
Like all herons, the yellow-crowned night heron flies with long, slow purposeful wing beats. It can be found gliding over water with its legs easily visible, extended straight below the tail, unlike the black-crowned night heron, whose legs can barely be seen in flight.
It takes about three years for yellow-crowned night herons to acquire the full physical appearance of adults. Before that, the young birds show signs of immaturity such as a brownish body, an overall greyish head, drab colors and spots and streaks on their plumage.
Although the adults are easy to tell apart, juvenile yellow-crowned night heron can look very similar to juvenile black-crowned night heron. Yellow-crowned juveniles tend to stand straighter and have heavier bills and longer legs, and their spots and streaks are finer than those of the black-crowned.
Being a heron, the yellow-crowned night heron is related to egrets and bitterns (the family Ardeidae), and, to a further extent, to pelicans and ibises (the order Pelecaniformes). The night herons are usually considered to have separated from the day herons (such as the great blue heron or the green heron).
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Wikipedia