Yellow-crowned Night Heron
Its
name may imply nocturnal (active only at dark), but the
Yellow-crowned night heron is active both day and night. Even
with its daytime activities, the handsome bird’s slow movement,
along with its shy behavior makes it a difficult bird to spot.
Found throughout the eastern two-thirds of Oklahoma, and
southeastern part of the United States, the yellow-crowned night
heron is generally found in shallow backwaters and wetland
areas.
The yellow-crowned night heron is a short stocky bird about 24
inches in length with a wingspan of a little under four feet. It
has long yellow to orange legs, red eyes, a black bill and a
short neck. The adults are a soft blue-gray, blackish on wings
and tail, with a creamy white crown accented by a black face and
white cheek patch. During breeding season, adults have a yellow
plume of feathers on their head. The young, appearing in
mid-June, are uniformly brown streaked.
The yellow-crowned night heron is a migratory bird that resides
here in Oklahoma during the summer months. During the winter, it
can be found as far south as South America, but can be found
almost anywhere along the Gulf and Atlantic Coast year round.
Unlike other night heron species, the yellow-crowned forages day
and night. It forages much like other herons by wading through
water waiting for its prey to come within striking distance.
Also, unlike the great heron which many have seen standing
motionless like a statue in many Oklahoma waters, the
yellow-crowned will stir up its quarry by wading briskly at the
waters edge. With a quick motion, the sword like bill stabs its
prey.
The prey of a yellow-crowned night heron normally consists of
fish, frogs, grasshoppers, and occasionally snakes, but its
primary diet is crustaceans (crayfish). It is also not uncommon
to see one prey upon a small turtle since it has a unique
stomach acid to help digest the shell.
During breeding season, the yellow-crowned night heron will
build a nest of sticks and twigs measuring two or three feet
across. This nest is generally a substantial platform that can
be found on the ground, or low in a tree, by a body of water.
The female will lay three to five eggs that are a pale bluish
green in color. Both the male and female will take turns
incubating the eggs. The eggs hatch in about three weeks, and
both parents care for the chicks feeding them regurgitated food.
The chicks fledge when they are about 25 days old.
The yellow-crowned night heron is a common wetland bird in
Oklahoma, but is listed as threatened in many of the states
within its northeastern range. Loss of wetland habitat has had
the greatest impact on this species. With continued conservation
of our wetland areas and development of new areas we can help
preserve the viewing of this species for many generations to
come.