Wild Florida Photo - Nycticorax nycticorax

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Nycticorax nycticorax

BLACK-CROWNED NIGHT-HERON

Florida native

 

Black-crowned night herons are found in nearly any wetland habitat in Florida, more common inland than along the coast. This is the most widespread heron in the world, appearing on five continents. It is absent from Australia and Antarctica and arid regions.
A medium-sized, stocky heron 58-66 cm (23-26 in.) long with a short neck and thick black bill. The top of the head (cap) and back are black, with gray wings and a white underside. They have red eyes, relatively short yellowish-green or pink legs and long narrow white plumes extending from the cap. The sexes are similar, with the female being slightly smaller. Immature Nycticorax nycticorax are brown with white spots and streaks overall, and a mostly yellow bill, helping differentiate it from young yellow-crowned night herons, which have an all black bill.

 
Nycticorax nycticorax is a member of the Ardeidae - Herons & Bitterns family.
 

Audubon Society Field Guide to Florida

  Peter Alden
An easy-to-use field guide for identifying 1,000 of the state's wildflowers, trees, mushrooms, mosses, fishes, amphibians, reptiles, birds, butterflies, mammals, and much more.

A complete overview of Florida's natural history, covering geology, wildlife habitats, ecology, fossils, rocks and minerals, clouds and weather patterns and night sky. An extensive sampling of the area's best parks, preserves, beaches, forests, islands, and wildlife sanctuaries, with detailed descriptions and visitor information for 50 sites and notes on dozens of others. The guide is packed with visual information — the 1,500 full-color images include more than 1,300 photographs, 14 maps, and 16 night-sky charts, as well as 150 drawings explaining everything from geological processes to the basic features of different plants and animals. For everyone who lives or spends time in Florida, there can be no finer guide to the area's natural surroundings than the National Audubon Society Field Guide to Florida.
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For more information on this species, visit the following link:
Cornell Lab of Ornithology All About Birds page for this species

Date record last modified:
Mar 14, 2009