BLACK-CROWNED NIGHT-HERON

Physical Description • The night heron has a stocky body, with a comparatively short neck and legs. • The adult has distinctive coloring, with black cap, upper back and scapulars, gray wings, rump and tail, and white to pale gray under parts. • The bill is stout and black, and the eyes are red. • For most of the year, the legs of the adult are yellow-green, but by the height of the breeding season, they have turned pink. • The juvenile has a brown head, neck, chest and belly streaked with buff and white. The wings and back are darker brown, though the tips of the feathers have large white spots [2].