BIRDS FOUND IN BAYOUS AND MARSHES 97 
202. BLACK-CROWNED NIGHT HERON. — Nycticorax 
nycticorax Nevius. 
Famity: The Herons, Egrets, and Bitterns. 
Length: 24.50. 
Adults: Crown, scapulars, and back iridescent black, with greenish 
reflections ; forehead, sides of head, throat, and under parts cream 
white ; sides ashy; sides and back of neck light brownish gray ; 
wings, rump, and tail dusky brownish gray ; head ornamented with 
a few very long, narrow, white occipital feathers. 
Young: Upper parts grayish brown, each feather marked with a wedge- 
shaped streak of white ; the quills with white at tips ; tail brownish 
gray ; under parts striped dark ash-brown and white. 
Geographical Distribution : Nearly all America, except the arctic regions. 
Breeding Range: From Manitoba to South America. 
Breeding Season: April and May. 
Nest: A platform of sticks, bulky ; placed in high trees ; in colonies of 
2 to 5 in a single tree, and thousands in the close vicinity. 
Eggs: 4to6; pale greenish. Size 2.15 x 1.55. 
THe Black-crowned Night Heron is an abundant resi- 
dent in all parts of California, breeding in suitable locali- 
ties. Although these herons prefer a nest in a tree, they 
frequently build in tule swamps, following the habits of 
the bitterns. They are gregarious at all times, nesting in 
large colonies. Except when there are young in the 
nest, these birds are nocturnal feeders, beginning at 
dusk. Their food consists largely of frogs. During 
incubation, one bird remains on the nest constantly, and 
is fed by the other, who also shares in the sitting. As 
soon as the young are hatched the fact is made known 
by the constant foraging for food during the day and 
carrying it to the nest. It is, however, partly digested 
and fed to them by regurgitation until they are a week 
or ten days old. I have never seen anything but frogs, 
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