Pixel Wild
Yellow-crowned Night Heron
Yellow-crowned Night Heron
Nyctanassa violacea
Aves
COMMON

Stats

Lifespan
6-18 yrs
Size
Medium
Diet
Carnivore
Activity
Nocturnal
Social
Colony
Biome
Coastal wetland
Range
The Americas
Movement
Flight
Breeding
Egg-laying
Defense
Camouflage
Status
Common

About

This wading bird stalks the shallow coastal marshes of the Americas at night. Its specialized beak can crush the thick shells of crabs to reach the meat inside.

Life cycle

  1. 1.
    egg
    A clutch of eggs is incubated in the nest, kept warm by a brooding parent until the chicks pip free.
  2. 2.
    hatchling
    A naked or downy hatchling is fed in the nest by its parents.
  3. 3.
    juvenile
    A feathered juvenile fledges from the nest and learns to fly and forage.
  4. 4.
    adult
    Fully grown with adult plumage.

Learn more

Taxonomy

Kingdom
Animalia
Phylum
Chordata
Class
Aves
Order
Pelecaniformes
Family
Ardeidae
Genus
Nyctanassa
Species
Nyctanassa violacea