The Story
This juvenile Yellow-crowned Night Heron (Nyctanassa violacea) stood on a twisted branch on the Caribbean coast at Capurganá, in Chocó, Colombia, its plumage patterned in browns and whites, quite unlike the adult’s. The species lives only in the Americas, and its range and even the shape of its bill follow its main food, crustaceans. Unlike the Black-crowned Night Heron, found around the world, it is one of only two night herons in its genus, the other being extinct. IUCN lists it as Least Concern.
I used a Canon R5 with the RF 800mm f/11 for this one, at 1/750 sec, f/11, ISO 1600. Capurganá can be reached only by boat or small plane, and it has no cars, which keeps the village and its forest edges quiet for birds like this one.
©2025 Adam Rainoff Photographer
The bird
The Yellow-crowned Night Heron (Nyctanassa violacea) 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 2018), with the population trend listed as stable. Source: IUCN Red List