Yellow crowned night heron

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Yellow crowned night heron  Nyctanassa violacea

The Yellow crowned night heron belong to Ardeidae family. 


They have long orange legs and feet. They have pointy black bill. There head is white and black stripped with feathers going down the back. The back are red, green, brown and grey. The young have white spots on the brown wings.

They are nocturnal and can be found by the coast, swamps,lakes, beaches, mangroves and wetlands. 

They nest in groups and nest in the marshes, where food is plentiful. 

They feed on crustaceans, fish, insects, small rodents and lizards. They hunt by watching and foraging and when the time is right, lunges forward and grabs the prey with its bill. 

During courtship the males fly around the females, they extended the neck. The nest is located in the trees. The females lay around six eggs and they are incubation for twenty five days by the female. The male and female both gather food for the young. 

Allaboutbirds.org, (2015). Yellow-crowned Night-Heron. [online] Available at: http://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Yellow-crowned_Night-Heron/lifehistory [Accessed 15 Apr. 2015].

Audubon, (2014). Yellow-crowned Night-Heron. [online] Available at: http://www.audubon.org/field-guide/bird/yellow-crowned-night-heron [Accessed 15 Apr. 2015].