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ABOUT THIS SPECIES

YELLOW-CROWNED NIGHT HERON – (Species Account Blog #82)

TAXONOMIC TREE:  

• ORDER: Pelecaniformes,
• FAMILY: Ardeidae,
• BINOMIAL NAME: Nyctanassa violacea

The Yellow-crowned Night-Heron is a medium blue grey heron with a light cap and cheek and a thick bill. The adult has a white crown with a yellow or rusty tinge. The side and back of the head is black. The bill is black with a yellow patch of skin at its base. The lores are yellow grey and the irises are orange. A white streak runs along the side of the head from the bill, below and beyond the eye. The neck is grey. The back and upper wings are grey, patterned by the feathers each having dark center and light margins which form distinctive back stripes. The legs are dull orange yellow. In breeding, the cap is white and has several long (to 150 mm) back plumes and lack with light margins. (from Birds of the World)

SIMILAR SPECIES

The Yellow-crowned Night Heron is distinguished from the Black Crowned Night-Heron by its white (not black) head and all grey (not black and white) body, and in flight by extended legs.

GLOBAL DISTRIBUTION

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PERSONAL OBSERVATION ANECDOTES

In Costa Rica we observed several Yellow-crowned Night Herons along the Tárcoles River.

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PHOTO GALLERY

**Some of these Photo Gallery images (all taken by me) have been taken in other nearby countries.

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RECENT BLOG POSTS

View the five most recent Birds & Birding in Costa Rica series blog posts below.

• A Streak-headed Woodcreeper Feeds its Offspring Near the Arenal Observatory Lodge, Costa Rica
• PALE-BILLED WOODPECKER – Pura Vida Birds and Birding
• SMOKY-BROWN WOODPECKER – Pura Vida Birds and Birding
• HOFFMANN’S WOODPECKER – Pura Vida Birds and Birding
• BLACK-CHEEKED WOODPECKER – Pura Vida Birds and Birding