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Juvenile Yellow-Crowned Night Heron

 

A juvenile Yellow-Crowned Night Heron stands on one leg amidst the mangroves. It is brown with white flecks on the tips of some of its feathers and a dark beak.

This juvenile Yellow-crowned Night Heron is showing what it looks like when you simultaneously want a nap and to show off your “I can stand on one leg” skills. Standing on one leg, according to BirdNote, helps the bird stay warm.[1]

I had trouble identifying this one at first, since juvenile Yellow-crowned and Black-crowned Night Herons look very similar. The “Birdist Rule #115: Learn to Identify and Differentiate Night-Herons” by Nicholas Lund on Audubon helped a lot, as it notes that juvenile Yellow-crowned Night Herons have (primarily) black beaks.[2]

The Details:

Common Name: Yellow-Crowned Night Heron
Scientific Name: Nyctanassa violacea
Family: Ardeidae
Seen: Late afternoon, standing very still in a mangrove near the water. 
Month: March

Learn More About Yellow-Crowned Night Herons

  1. BirdNote. (2018, April 2). Why do Birds Rest on One Leg? [Audio transcript]. Audubon.
  2. Lund, N. (2016, August 17). Birdist Rule #115: Learn to Identify and Differentiate Night-Herons. Audubon.
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