Yellow-Crowned Night Heron

By Christopher Minster

The distinctive Yellow-crowned Night Heron (Nycticorax violaceus) can be easily identified by its yellow crown and a white stripe under its eye. They are gangly birds, with heads that seem a little too large for their bodies. During the day, they can often be seen poking around rocky shorelines. They are more active at night and sometimes even come into the towns to feed near streetlights.

Yellow-Crowned Night Herons can be found all over North America and in Northern South America. The ones in Galápagos are considered by some scientists to be a sub-species.

The Yellow-Crowned Night Heron mostly feeds on crabs, which it snatches off the rocks and downs in one big gulp. They’re also known to eat shellfish, snails, fish and small reptiles. It nests in branches and mangroves that hang over water.