Black-crowned night-heron, Nycticorax nycticorax, commonly known just as the night heron in Eurasia or as quarks in the Falkland Islands, photographed whilst sleeping in the afternoon sun at San Bernard Wildlife Refuge, Texas, USA.
Image: Joseph Kennedy, 26 January 2011 [velociraptorize].
Nikon D200, Kowa 883 telescope with TSN-PZ camera eyepiece 1/320s f/8.0 at 1000.0mm iso400
Question: This mystery bird always amazes me because it is found almost everywhere in the world. Can you identify this species?
Response: This is a black-crowned night-heron, Nycticorax nycticorax -- an immature bird from the summer of 2010. This bird can be confused with a yellow-crowned night-heron but that species has a blunter beak and an orange eye.
The northern populations of this species are migratory, whilst the southern populations are residents. The North American population winters in the southern United States, Mexico, Central America, and the West Indies, and the Old World birds winter in tropical Africa and southern Asia.
You are invited to review all of the daily mystery birds by going to their dedicated graphic index page.
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