Although quite common in the U.S., the Black-crowned night-heron's nocturnal and crepuscular feeding habits can make it difficult to locate. Its habitat consists of marshes, lakes, rivers, and other wetlands, where it feeds mostly on fish. It is a thick-billed, medium-sized, stocky heron with relatively short neck and legs. Adults have a black back and cap which contrast with the pale gray or whitish underparts. Immatures have brown backs with large pale spots and heavily streaked underparts. A distinctive choking squawk call is often heard at dusk.

It is a fairly common summer resident east of the Cascades where it breeds locally at large wetlands. This species has nested on Malheur Lake in the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge since at least 1918 and continues to breed there. Several other colonies have been documented in Lake and Harney counties. Night -Herons are known to shift colony locations in response to changing water conditions. It is observed more widely when postbreeding adults and young disperse, and may be locally abundant during fall in eastern Oregon favored locations such as Malheur National Wildlife Refuge.

Black-crowned night-herons usually breed in colonies with other species of colonial nesting waterbirds. They use a broad spectrum of habitat types for nesting from the ground up to 160 feet in trees. Breeding colonies are typically found on islands, in marshes, or over water.

Hear the call of the Black-crowned night heron

Photo by David Bronson, ODFW