Black-crowned Night Heron

Nycticorax nycticorax

The black-crowned night heron is a small, stocky wading bird. Adults have:

• A glossy black cap. The rest of the head is white.
• Two or three narrow white plumes on the back of the head.
• A glossy greenish-black back.
• Dark blue-gray wings and rump.
• A dark gray bill.
• Yellowish-orange legs and feet.
• Underparts are white to light gray.

Black-crowned night herons grow to about 23 inches.

Where does the black-crowned night heron live?

Black-crowned night herons are year-round Bay residents:

• During the spring and summer they live in breeding colonies.
• In fall and winter they can be found on marshes and shorelines of Bay tributaries and wildlife refuges and management areas.

What does the black-crowned night heron eat?

Black-crowned night herons feed mostly on small fish, amphibians, crustaceans and aquatic insects.

What does the black-crowned night heron sound like?

Black-crowned night herons make a flat-sounding quok! or quark!, most often at dusk.

Where does the black-crowned night heron nest and breed?

Black-crowned night herons are colonial breeders. The largest breeding colony in the Bay region is on Fishermans Island at the mouth of the Bay. Other colonies are located near Baltimore Harbor, Mobjack Bay in Virginia and on islands near Tangier and Pocomoke sounds on the Eastern Shore.

Black-crowned night herons may begin breeding as early as February, and new breeders may continue to arrive at colonies through the end of April. They nest in shrubs or tree undergrowth.

• The peak of egg-laying occurs from mid-March to late April.
• Females lay 3-5 eggs, which they incubate for about 25 days.
• Most eggs hatch from late April to late May.
• The young fledge after about six weeks, and most birds leave the breeding colonies from mid-August through October.