BLACK-CROWNED NIGHT HERON
202. Nycticorax nycticorax nævius. 24 in.
Bill much heavier than that of the herons; neck and legs shorter and stouter; eye red; bill black; legs and bare space in front of eye, pale yellowish-green. Young birds are mottled with brownish-gray and white; eyes yellow. As their name implies, these herons do most of their feeding after dusk, sleeping during the greater part of the day. Their heronries are usually located in swamps, and preferably in coniferous trees. A visit to one of these is very interesting, but old clothes must be worn, for their homes are filthy. On your approach, the old birds flap away, and circle about with squawks of disapproval, and all the young birds commence a loud ticking noise, like what would be produced by hundreds of huge “grandfather’s clocks.”
Notes.—A harsh “quark.”
Nest.—A platform of sticks; eggs pale bluish-green. (2.00 × 1.40).
Range.—Breeds north to New Brunswick and Manitoba; winters in the Gulf States and southward.
