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Black-Crowned Night-Heron
Nycticorax nycticorax
-21.5953, -46.8873
Field Notes
Description:
Adults are approximately 64cm long and weigh 800g. They have a black crown and back with the remainder of the body white or grey, red eyes, and short yellow legs. Immature birds have dull grey-brown plumage on their heads, wings, and backs, with numerous pale spots. Their underparts are paler and streaked with brown. The young birds have orange eyes and duller yellowish-green legs.
Habitat:
The breeding habitat is fresh and salt-water wetlands throughout much of the world. I found this specimen in a urban river of my city, in a region of transition between the Cerrado and Atlantic Forest.
Notes:
These birds stand still at the water's edge and wait to ambush prey, mainly at night or early morning. They primarily eat small fish, crustaceans, frogs, aquatic insects, small mammals and small birds. During the day they rest in trees or bushes.
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