The Story
I photographed this Black-crowned Night Heron (Nycticorax nycticorax) at the Raudal del Guayabero, near San José del Guaviare, Guaviare, Colombia, in February 2021. It breeds in fresh and saltwater wetlands across much of the world. It is migratory in the north of its range but resident elsewhere, even in cold Patagonia. Colonies nest on stick platforms in trees or on the ground in protected spots such as islands and reedbeds. Young birds have orange eyes and duller yellowish-green legs than adults. IUCN lists it as Least Concern.
I made this frame with a Canon R5 and the RF 800mm f/11 plus the RF 1.4x extender, at 1/1500 sec, f/16, ISO 1600, −0.5 EV. The Raudal del Guayabero is a narrows where the Guayabero River runs between the Serranía de La Lindosa and the Serranía de la Macarena, about 38 kilometers by fast boat from San José del Guaviare.
©2022 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