6/13/18

Yellow-crowned Night-Herons

 Yellow-crowned Night Heron
 (Nyctanassa violacea)
Photographed at Runaway Bay, Jamaica      Aug 2013
 Holguin, Cuba      Mar 2018

Yellow-crowned Night-Herons live in or near wetlands—on the coast along islands, mangroves, and barrier beaches; farther inland in wooded swamps, forested uplands, and lakes and rivers, sometimes near residential areas. They usually nest in small colonies, sometimes with other wading birds, and forage along tidal marshes, in tide pools and the shores of water bodies where crustaceans are abundant.

Adults are about 24 in long and weigh 22.0 oz. They have a white crown and back with the remainder of the body grayish, red eyes and short yellow legs. They have a white stripe below the eye. Juveniles resemble young Black-crowned Night-Herons, being mainly brown flecked with white or gray.


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