Nycticorax

Nycticorax is a genus of night herons. The name Nycticorax means "night raven" and derives from the Ancient Greek νύκτος, nuktos "night" and κοραξ, korax, "raven". It refers to the largely nocturnal feeding habits of this group of birds, and the croaking crow-like call of the best known species, the black-crowned night heron.[2]

See also: Nyctanassa

Nycticorax
Temporal range: Early Oligocene to present
Black-crowned night heron (Nycticorax nycticorax)
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Clade: Dinosauria
Class: Aves
Order: Pelecaniformes
Family: Ardeidae
Subfamily: Ardeinae
Genus: Nycticorax
T. Forster, 1817
Type species
Nycticorax infaustus[1] = Ardea nycticorax
T. Forster, 1817
Species

2 extant, see text

These are medium-sized herons which often are migratory in the colder parts of their ranges.

Adults are short-necked, relatively short-legged and stout herons; the two extant species both have a black crown and a whitish belly, while the wings, chest, neck and auriculars are grey or rufous depending on the species. Young birds are brown, flecked with white and grey, and are quite similar to each other in the extant species. At least some of the extinct Mascarenes taxa appear to have retained this juvenile plumage in adult birds.

Night herons nest in colonies on platforms of sticks in a group of trees, or on the ground in protected locations such as islands or reed beds. Three to eight eggs are laid.

They stand at the water's edge, and wait to ambush prey, mainly at night. They primarily eat small fish, crustaceans, frogs, aquatic insects, and small mammals. During the day they rest in trees or bushes.

Taxonomy
Stuffed night heron in the American Museum of Natural History

The genus Nycticorax was introduced in 1817 by the English naturalist Thomas Forster to accommodate the black-crowned night heron.[3][4] The epithet nycticorax is from Ancient Greek and combines nux, nuktos meaning "night" and korax meaning "raven". The word was used by authors such as Aristotle and Hesychius of Miletus for a "bird of ill omen", perhaps an owl. The word was used by the Swiss naturalist Conrad Gessner in 1555 and then by subsequent authors for the black-crowned night heron.[5][6]

The genus now contains just two species.[7]

In addition to the species listed below, the night herons of the genera Nyctanassa and Gorsachius were formerly placed in Nycticorax.[4]

Extant species
ImageScientific nameCommon NameDistribution
Nycticorax nycticoraxBlack-crowned night heronEurope, Asia, and North and South America
Nycticorax caledonicusNankeen night heron or rufous night heronAustralia, New Zealand, the Philippines, Papua New Guinea, the Solomon Islands, Java, New Caledonia, Palau, and the Caroline Islands, Federated States of Micronesia

Extinct species and fossils

In addition, the following taxa are known from fossil bones:

References
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Nycticorax.
  1. "Ardeidae". aviansystematics.org. The Trust for Avian Systematics. Retrieved 27 July 2023.
  2. Jobling, James A (2010). The Helm Dictionary of Scientific Bird Names. London: Christopher Helm. p. 277. ISBN 978-1-4081-2501-4.
  3. Forster, T. (1817). A Synoptical Catalogue of British Birds; intended to identify the species mentioned by different names in several catalogues already extant. Forming a book of reference to Observations on British ornithology. London: Nichols, son, and Bentley. p. 59.
  4. Mayr, Ernst; Cottrell, G. William, eds. (1979). Check-List of Birds of the World. Vol. 1 (2nd ed.). Cambridge, Massachusetts: Museum of Comparative Zoology. p. 228.
  5. Gesner, Conrad (1555). Historiae animalium liber III qui est de auium natura. Adiecti sunt ab initio indices alphabetici decem super nominibus auium in totidem linguis diuersis: & ante illos enumeratio auium eo ordiné quo in hoc volumine continentur (in Latin). Zurich: Froschauer. pp. 602–603.
  6. Jobling, James A. (2010). The Helm Dictionary of Scientific Bird Names. London: Christopher Helm. p. 277. ISBN 978-1-4081-2501-4.
  7. Gill, Frank; Donsker, David; Rasmussen, Pamela, eds. (August 2022). "Ibis, spoonbills, herons, Hamerkop, Shoebill, pelicans". IOC World Bird List Version 12.2. International Ornithologists' Union. Retrieved 28 November 2022.
  8. Steadman, David W.; Worthy, Trevor H.; Anderson, Atholl & Walter, Richard. (1 June 2000). "New species and records of birds from prehistoric sites on Niue, southwest Pacific". Wilson Bulletin. 112 (2): 165–186. doi:10.1676/0043-5643(2000)112[0165:NSAROB]2.0.CO;2. S2CID 86588636. Archived from the original on 24 May 2007.(subscription required)
  9. "Nycticorax nycticorax". Encyclopedia of Life. Archived from the original on 4 March 2015.
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