Stats

Lifespan: 10-15 yrs
Size: Medium
Diet: Carnivore
Activity: Crepuscular
Social: Solitary
Biome: Tropical rainforest
Range: South and Southeast Asia
Movement: Flight
Breeding: Egg-laying
Defense: Camouflage
Status: Uncommon

About

A stocky, secretive heron of South and Southeast Asian forests, most often found motionless near shaded streams by day and hunting frogs and crabs after dark. Its striking black crown sports a long drooping crest that it erects into a bold fan when alarmed.

Life cycle

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

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Taxonomy

Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Aves
Order: Pelecaniformes
Family: Ardeidae
Genus: Gorsachius
Species: Gorsachius melanolophus