Birds Of Southern California

Yellow-crowned Night Heron (Nyctanassa violacea)

The Yellow-crowned Night Heron (formerly placed in the genus Nycticorax), also called the American Night Heron or squawk, is a fairly small heron. It is found throughout a large part of the Americas, especially (but not exclusively) in warmer coastal regions; an example occurrence is the Petenes mangroves of the Yucatan. A related heron, the Bermuda Night Heron, was endemic to Bermuda, but became extinct following human colonisation. Adults are about 61 cm (24 in) long and weigh 625 g (22.0 oz). They have a white crown and back with the remainder of the body grayish, red eyes and short yellow legs. They have a white stripe below the eye. Juveniles resemble young Black-crowned Night-Herons, being mainly brown flecked with white or gray. (Excerpt from Wikipedia)