Black-crowned night heron images

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The Black-crowned night heron (Nycticorax nycticorax) belongs to the family of herons and egrets, the Ardeidae under the order Pelecaniformes.

Black-crowned night heron taxonomy

The Ardeidae is the family of herons. The family Ardeidae was first described by William Elford Leach, MD, FRS (2 February 1791 – 25 August 1836), an English zoologist and marine biologist, in the year 1820.

The family Ardeidae comprises three subfamilies, viz., Tigriornithinae, Botaurinae and Ardeinae. The subfamily Ardeinae contains eleven extant genera, including Nycticorax.

The genus Nycticorax comprises typical night herons and was first introduced by Thomas Ignatius Maria Forster (9 November 1789 – 2 February 1860), an English astronomer and naturalist, in the year 1817.

The genus Nycticorax comprises two extant heron species, viz., Nycticorax nycticorax and Nycticorax caledonicus.

The N. nycticorax heron species is polytypic and comprises four subspecies. The Nycticorax nycticorax species was first described by Carl Linnaeus (23 May 1707 – 10 January 1778), a Swedish botanist, physician and zoologist, in the year 1758.

Taxonomic classification
Binomial name:	Nycticorax nycticorax
Species:	N. nycticorax
Genus:	Nycticorax
Subfamily:	-
Family:	Ardeidae
Order:	Pelecaniformes
Class:	Aves
Phylum:	Chordata
Kingdom:	Animalia

1.Black-crowned night heron - Nycticorax nycticorax
Image by Frank Schulenburg

2.Black-crowned night heron - Nycticorax nycticorax
Image by DickDaniels (http://carolinabirds.org/)

3.Black-crowned night heron - Nycticorax nycticorax
Image by DickDaniels (http://carolinabirds.org/)

4.Black-crowned night heron - Nycticorax nycticorax
Image by Andy Reago & Chrissy McClarren

5.Black-crowned night heron - Nycticorax nycticorax
Image by Calibas

6.Black-crowned night heron - Nycticorax nycticorax
Image by Danbrazil

7.Black-crowned night heron - Nycticorax nycticorax
Image by lienyuan lee

8.Black-crowned night heron - Nycticorax nycticorax
Image by Kevin Faccenda

9.Black-crowned night heron - Nycticorax nycticorax
Image by Charles Lam

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1.Image source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Nycticorax_nycticorax_at_Las_Gallinas_Wildlife_Ponds,_looking_down.jpg (cropped)
Author: Frank Schulenburg | License: CC BY-SA 3.0 as on 8/27/18
2.Image source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Black-crowned_Night_Heron_RWD7.jpg (cropped)
Author: DickDaniels (http://carolinabirds.org/) | License: CC BY-SA 3.0 as on 8/27/18
3.Image source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/ (cropped)
Author: DickDaniels (http://carolinabirds.org/) | License: CC BY-SA 3.0 as on 8/27/18
4.Image source: https://www.flickr.com/photos/wildreturn/32530545733/ (cropped)
Author: Andy Reago & Chrissy McClarren | License: CC BY 2.0 as on 8/27/18
5.Image source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Nycticorax_nycticorax12.jpg (cropped)
Author: Calibas | License: CC BY-SA 3.0 as on 8/27/18
6.Image source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Savacu_(Nycticorax_nycticorax).jpg (cropped)
Author: Danbrazil | License: CC BY-SA 4.0 as on 8/27/18
7.Image source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Waiting_%E7%AD%89_-_panoramio.jpg (cropped)
Author: lienyuan lee | License: CC BY 3.0 as on 8/27/18
8.Image source: https://www.flickr.com/photos/wasp7ty/28379819202/in/photostream/ (cropped)
Author: Kevin Faccenda | License: CC BY 2.0 as on 8/27/18
9.Image source: https://www.flickr.com/photos/kclama/1437727486/in/photostream/ (cropped)
Image author: Charles Lam | License: CC BY-SA 2.0 as on 8/26/18
Current topic in Bird World: Black-crowned night heron - Nycticorax nycticorax images.

Black-crowned night heron

Home   ›   Chinese spot-billed duck   ›   Black-crowned night heron - Nycticorax nycticorax.

The black-crowned night heron (Nycticorax nycticorax) is a heron belonging to the family Ardeidae. The black-crowned night heron is distributed in Asia, Indian Subcontinent, Africa, Europe and Americas.

Taxonomy of black-crowned night heron

• Scientific Name: Nycticorax nycticorax
• Common Name: Black-crowned night heron
• French: Bihoreau gris; German: Nachtreiher; Spanish: Martinete común;
• Other names: Ardea Nycticorax Linnaeus, 1758;
• Family: Ardeidae › Pelecaniformes › Aves › Chordata › Animalia
• Species author: (Linnaeus, 1758)

There are four recognized subspecies. They are: N. n. nycticorax (Linnaeus, 1758), N. n. hoactli (J. F. Gmelin, 1789), N. n. obscurus Bonaparte, 1855 and N. n. falklandicus E. J. O. Hartert, 1914.

Indian birds - Black-crowned night heron - Nycticorax nycticorax

Description

The black-crowned night heron is medium sized bird, measuring 55 to 65 cm in length and weighing 250 to 1,100 grams. The wingspan is 105 to 110 cm. The back and crown are blackish or very dark grey. The underside of the body is whitish grey. The wings are light grey. The eyes are red and the bill is dark. The legs are light yellow or orange. Two or three long white plumes extend from the back of the head. The heron vocal call is somewhat like “kwark” or “kowak”.

Habitat

The black-crowned night heron species inhabit fresh, brackish or saline water bodies. These heron species prefer water bodies with aquatic vegetation and woody margins. They inhabit forested margins of ponds, lakes, streams, creeks, lagoons, marshes and mangroves.

Feeding habits

The black-crowned night heron species are largely nocturnal in feeding. The breeding herons may be diurnal. They feed on fish, crustaceans, molluscs, leeches, frogs, reptiles, small birds, small mammals and a variety of insects.

Breeding

The black-crowned night heron species construct breeding platforms on half submerged trees or trees near water. The breeding occurs usually during spring. In tropical regions these heron species breed during the rainy season.

Distribution

The black-crowned night heron subspecies N. n. falklandicus occurs in Falkland Islands. The subspecies N. n. obscurus occurs in Chile and Argentina in South America. The subspecies N. n. hoactli occurs in Hawaiian Islands, Canada, USA, Central America, Chile and Argentina. The subspecies N. n. nycticorax occurs in Europe, Africa, Madagascar, Asia, Indian Subcontinent, Southeast Asia, Indonesia and Philippines.

Movement Patterns

The northern black-crowned night heron populations are migratory, moving southwards for wintering. The European population moves to Africa and North American populations move to Central and South America. The northward movement for breeding occur from March to May. Post breeding movement for wintering occur from September to October. They roost in large flocks.

Status and conservation

The global black-crowned night heron population is estimated to number 510,000 to 3,600,000 individuals (2006). The species is threatened by habitat destruction. The species is susceptible to avian influenza. Pesticide use in agriculture is affecting the breeding success.

The IUCN (International Union for Conservation of Nature) has categorized and evaluated these black-crowned night heron species and has listed them as of "Least Concern".

Biological classification of Nycticorax nycticorax
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Aves
Order:	Pelecaniformes
Family:	Ardeidae
Subfamily:	-
Genus:	Nycticorax
Species:	N. nycticorax
Binomial name:	Nycticorax nycticorax
Distribution:	Europe, Asia, Africa, Americas;
Feeding habits:	small fish, crustaceans, frogs, aquatic insects, small mammals, and small birds;
IUCN status listing:	Least Concern

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Image source: http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Black-crowned_Night_Heron_(Nycticorax_nycticorax)_RWD2.jpg
Author: DickDaniels (http://carolinabirds.org) | License: CC BY-SA 3.0
Current topic in Birds of India: Black-crowned night heron - Nycticorax nycticorax.