BIRDS OF THE REST OF THE WORLD! G.C. member photos!

This is a "Black Crowned Night Heron" I spotted in the Mangroves on the Negril River in Jamaica..

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Black Crowned Night Heron: Nycticorax nycticorax

There are over 8 different species of herons within the Negril River & The Great Morass. The Black Crowned Night Heron is one of the most rare and unusual birds that resides in the swamp forest. This bird has various different colours based on its stage of maturity. It has a hunched over posture with its head tucked down into its shoulders and when standing is 23-28 inches and has a wing span of 45 inches. Its plumage is gray and white with a unique black cap and a pair of white plumes that extend from the back of the head. The black feathers from the head and back emit a bluish-green gloss and the legs become red during the breeding season.

These herons are nocturnal & feed only at night. While their other heron relatives are sleeping, they are up, fending for fish, frogs, crustaceans and other small animals. It is said that they have very strong digestive acids that dissolve the large bones of their ââ?¬Ë?catchââ?¬â?¢. Black crowned night herons are not sweet singers; they make a loud harsh squawk or a noisy crock, crock.

They nest in colonies amongst reeds, mangroves, and ponds, in nest made of reeds, sticks or twigs. The females lay 3-4 bluish-green eggs between February and March and again between June and July. Both the mother and the father incubate the eggs and after a period of 24 to 26 days the downy young hatches. The parents through regurgitation feed the nestlings. After six to seven weeks the young leaves the nest to fend for themselves.

A young Black Crowned Night Heron..

 

This is a "Black Crowned Night Heron" I spotted in the Mangroves on the Negril River in Jamaica..

.


.

Black Crowned Night Heron: Nycticorax nycticorax

There are over 8 different species of herons within the Negril River & The Great Morass. The Black Crowned Night Heron is one of the most rare and unusual birds that resides in the swamp forest. This bird has various different colours based on its stage of maturity. It has a hunched over posture with its head tucked down into its shoulders and when standing is 23-28 inches and has a wing span of 45 inches. Its plumage is gray and white with a unique black cap and a pair of white plumes that extend from the back of the head. The black feathers from the head and back emit a bluish-green gloss and the legs become red during the breeding season.

These herons are nocturnal & feed only at night. While their other heron relatives are sleeping, they are up, fending for fish, frogs, crustaceans and other small animals. It is said that they have very strong digestive acids that dissolve the large bones of their ââ?¬Ë?catchââ?¬â?¢. Black crowned night herons are not sweet singers; they make a loud harsh squawk or a noisy crock, crock.

They nest in colonies amongst reeds, mangroves, and ponds, in nest made of reeds, sticks or twigs. The females lay 3-4 bluish-green eggs between February and March and again between June and July. Both the mother and the father incubate the eggs and after a period of 24 to 26 days the downy young hatches. The parents through regurgitation feed the nestlings. After six to seven weeks the young leaves the nest to fend for themselves.

A young Black Crowned Night Heron..

 

geckoman yours could be a young Green Heron-Butorides virescens....

 

geckoman yours could be a young Green Heron-Butorides virescens....

 

This is just at the southern end of Africa on the cliffs of the Cape of Good Hope.






Don't know what this is (not very clear) but was taken at the border between Chile and Peru




A baby hummingbird waiting for mum to come back and feed it. (I waited as well but mum kept flying around trying to distract me). Cost Rica




Some pelicans fishing in Ecuador.




A feisty fighting cock in Peru. (It was at a horse breeding stable)

 

This is just at the southern end of Africa on the cliffs of the Cape of Good Hope.






Don't know what this is (not very clear) but was taken at the border between Chile and Peru




A baby hummingbird waiting for mum to come back and feed it. (I waited as well but mum kept flying around trying to distract me). Cost Rica




Some pelicans fishing in Ecuador.




A feisty fighting cock in Peru. (It was at a horse breeding stable)