While biking around the neighborhood Copperfield Nature Trail area this morning, I stopped for a short break. There was a bench near a small pond, and with the heat index already reaching 99ºF (37ºC) at 11 AM, I took advantage of the shade. Sitting there, I noticed a small head trying to hide near the shore. Sometimes I could see it, and sometimes I could not. I got my camera out of my backpack and began looking at what I first thought was a duck. As the bird moved out of the reeds, I realized it was a heron. I first thought it was a Blue Heron. When I got home, I found out it was a Yellow-Crowned Night Heron (Nyctanassa violacea). That was the first time I saw one of those.
Wikipedia says these birds are restricted to the Americas, unlike their worldwide counterpart, the Black-Crowned Night Heron. All About Birds says these herons are normally found on coastal marshes and mangroves, but they can be seen as far inland as the USA Midwest. The name can be misleading since these herons are active both during the day and at night. Although their long legs are yellow (see the next photo), they often turn coral, pink, or red during courtship. Their diet consists primarily of crabs, crayfish, and other crustaceans.
I recently had another post about a Striated Heron I had spotted in Brazil. We were walking around Ibirapuera, São Paulo‘s largest city park. Imagine my surprise when I.J. Khanewala posted the weekly Bird of the Week Invitation LXX about those herons. This is my entry for that Bird of the Week invitation.
Discover more from Through Brazilian Eyes
Subscribe to get the latest posts to your email.
Marie A Bailey
Great shots! How serendipitous that you were both there at the same time 🙂
Egidio Leitao
I totally agree with you, Marie. Thanks for the feedback.
Amy
Beautiful photos of this special bird!
Egidio Leitao
Thanks, Amy.
Toonsarah
Great photos! And interesting as I just included some yellow crowned night herons from the Galápagos in my latest post. They look a bit different to yours, so are probably endemic Galápagos sub-species?
Egidio Leitao
Sarah, thank you very much. I think the heron I spotted is likely a juvenile. I saw other photos online where the yellow band on the head was more pronounced. I’ll check out your post.
Ritva Sillanmäki Photography
Great sharp images, looks great 😊
Egidio Leitao
Thank you, dear friend.
Aletta - nowathome
Great photos of this Night Heron Egidio! We have the The black-crowned night-heron here in our area, but I was not lucky enough to get close up photos
Egidio Leitao
Thanks, Aletta. I was very surprised to see it. I bike that trail very regularly but never spotted a heron there.
Aletta - nowathome
Wonderful
Photos by Jez
Amazing captures, Egidio 😃
Egidio Leitao
Thank you very much for your kind words.
Rebecca Cuningham
What a beauty. Good capture!
Egidio Leitao
Thank you, Rebecca.
Anne Sandler
Nice captures Egidio!
Egidio Leitao
Thank you, Anne.
Anonymous
A great sighting. Congratulations on that lifer. Wonderful crisp photos. I like your description of the behaviour you saw.
Wikipedia is quite right about this heron being restricted to the Americas.
Egidio Leitao
Thank you for the compliment. I appreciated it.
Vicki
What a beauty. Great shot, Egidio. How excited you must have been to see it for the first time. I know I would be.
The stripe on the face makes it far more interesting than plain-faced herons.
Egidio Leitao
Vicki, yes, I was very excited. That stripe was quite noticeable. Thank you for your feedback.
Writing to Freedom
What a beautiful heron. I haven’t seen those before. Nice photos Egidio!
Egidio Leitao
Thanks so much, Brad. It was a first for me, too.
restlessjo
Isn’t he lovely? What a happy sighting, Egidio!
Egidio Leitao
Thanks, Jo. Yes, I was thrilled it was new to me.
nesfelicio
Great photos! Thanks for sharing this rare (to me) heron; as you mentioned the black-crowned and striated are more common in these parts. Lovely bird.
Egidio Leitao
Nes, thank you for the feedback. I have seen several kinds of herons around Austin, but this was my first time seeing this type.
Anne Sandler
Great photographs, especially the in-flight shot.
Egidio Leitao
Thank you so much, Anne. I got a few other shots, but my shutter speed was low and did not get a sharp image.
margaret21
What a handsome bird. So unlike our own grey herons, but they’re all a great addition to their neighbourhood.
Egidio Leitao
Margaret, I was so happy to see this bird, too. They do add to our little world around home. Thanks for the comment.