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Black-crowned Night Heron

Nycticorax nycticorax

Photo by Wild Things
Published on Project Noah
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22.8209, 72.0572

Field Notes

Description:

These birds have a black crown and back with the remainder of the body white or grey, red eyes, and short yellow legs. They have pale grey wings and white underparts. Two or three long white plumes, erected in greeting and courtship displays, extend from the back of the head. The sexes are similar in appearance although the males are slightly larger. Their resting posture is normally somewhat hunched but when hunting they extend their necks and look more like other wading birds. 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. They are very noisy birds in their nesting colonies. 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-Wikipedia.

Habitat:

Seen at outside the gate of Nalsarovar marshland.

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