Birds › Garden pond › Black-crowned Night Heron

Black-crowned Night Heron

Nycticorax nycticorax

Spends the day hunched in trees and hunts mostly at dusk and night. It lives on every continent except Australia and Antarctica.

Where to see it for real: Roosts in groups in trees by park ponds; listen for its barking "quok" at dusk.

Spot it in the game

Lives in the Garden pond habitat (East Asia, at the Summer Palace in Beijing).

Black-crowned Night Heron facts

Family

Herons and egrets

Length

24 in (62 cm)

Wingspan

45 in (115 cm)

Weight

28 oz (800 g)

Diet

Fish, frogs, crayfish and insects.

Range

Every continent except Australia and Antarctica.

Nest

A platform of sticks in a tree near water, in a colony.

Song

A flat, barking "quok" at dusk.

Active

at dawn, at dusk and at night

Status

Least Concern on the IUCN Red List: widespread and not at risk.

What the Black-crowned Night Heron sounds like

More: bird songs and calls, birds at night.

More birds of the garden pond

Mandarin DuckGarden pondCommon KingfisherGarden pondLittle EgretGarden pondChinese Pond HeronGarden pondAzure-winged MagpieGarden pondLight-vented BulbulGarden pond