(Nyctanassa violaceus)
22 - 28 inches

photograph © Walker Golder

Status: No special status in North Carolina.

Identification: Adult Yellow-crowned Night-Herons are short, stocky herons with a gray neck and belly, black and gray mottled back, and black head with a distinctive white-yellowish crown and cheek patch. The bill is black with a yellowish base, and the legs are yellow. The lores are also yellow.

Nesting Habitat: This species nests in shrub thickets and coastal and swamp forests in both fresh and saltwater habitats. Nests are usually elevated and may be over water.

Breeding Biology: Very little is known about the breeding biology of Yellow-crowned Night-Herons in North Carolina. Initiation of nesting activities usually begins in late March. Yellow-crowned Night-Herons construct platform nests of interwoven stems and twigs, occasionally lined with grasses or leaves. The female lays three to four bluish-green eggs that are incubated by both parents for about 24 days. Nestlings are fed by both parents and begin to fly at four to five weeks of age. Yellow-crowned Night-Herons occupy North Carolina colony sites from March to August.

Food: Food consists primarily of crustaceans, but also includes small fish, reptiles, amphibians, eels, insects and mollusks.

State Nesting Population: unknown

Major Threats: Human disturbances at nesting sites, loss of nesting sites, and degradation of wetland foraging areas.

Waterbirds:
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Last Revision 5/21/98