The Story
This Black-crowned Night Heron (Nycticorax nycticorax) was at Hato Barley in Tauramena, Casanare, Colombia when I photographed it. It nests in colonies, on stick platforms in trees or on the ground in protected spots such as islands or reedbeds. Young birds have orange eyes and dull yellowish-green legs. It is migratory in the north of its range but resident elsewhere. It usually rests in a hunched posture, but it stretches out its neck when hunting. Casanare lies in Colombia’s Orinoquía region, the eastern plains, at an average of about 350 meters. Tauramena lies in southwestern Casanare.
I made this frame with a Pentax K-1 and the HD Pentax-D FA 150-450mm f/4.5-5.6, at 1/1250 sec, f/5.6, ISO 400. IUCN lists the Black-crowned Night Heron as Least Concern.
©2019 Adam Rainoff Photographer
The bird
The Black-crowned Night Heron (Nycticorax nycticorax) belongs to the family Ardeidae (Herons, Egrets, and Bitterns) in the eBird/Clements taxonomy.
Source: eBird.org (opens in a new tab)
Conservation
Least Concern on the IUCN Red List (assessment published 2025). Source: IUCN Red List