Photo Credit: epa.gov

Go to Swamp/Marsh Birds - Range Map

Description: The cosmopolitan Black-Crowned Night Heron is found throughout the world. Despite the name, these birds are active during the day and at night, though they are more active at night. They often nest in huge colonies. In fact, a colony of several hundred wild Black-Crowned Night Herons nest in the trees above the water birds exhibit at the National Zoo in Washington D.C.

The Black-Crowned Night Heron is a stocky bird that measures about 22 inches in length. Virtually unmistakable, it has a black cap, bright red eyes, thick, black bill, white face, throat and underparts, gray wings, and a dark-blue back. During breeding season, it grows a white plume that extends from the nape. Males and females are similar. The immature night heron is mostly streaky brown.

Diet: Fish, amphibians, insects, rodents, lizards, invertebrates, snakes, eggs.

Range: The Black-Crowned Night Heron breeds across most of the United States and southern Canada, though it is very local within its range. It also breeds throughout much of Mexico, the Caribbean islands, South America, Europe, and parts of Africa and Asia.

Habitat: Freshwater and Saltwater marshes, swamps, streams, lakes, agricultural fields.

Status: The Black-Crowned Night Heron is fairly common.