Nankeen Night Heron

Nycticorax caledonicus

Photo by Neil Fifer
Shot near Sydney, Australia, September 2003

Distribution

Philippines and Sulu Archipelago, north and west Borneo and Sulawesi, Moluccas, New Guinea, Bismarck Archipelago, Palau and Solomon Islands and New Caledonia. Also breeds over much of Australia except the arid interior.

Taxonomy

Six subspecies recognized:

• N. c. crassirostris formerly Bonin Islands; extinct since the late 1800s
• N. c. manillensis in Philippines, east Borneo and Sulawesi
• N. c. australasiae from Australia and New Guinea west to Java
• N. c. mandibularis from Bismarck Archipelago to Solomon Islands
• N. c. pelewensis on Palau and Caroline islands
• N. c. caledonicus in New Caledonia

Habitat

Lakes, swamps and rivers, mangroves and flooded grasslands.

Behaviour

The diet includes small fish, reptiles, insects and sometimes eggs.

It builds a nest platform out of sticks. It nests communally, near water. 2-5 light green eggs are laid, with a 22-day incubation followed by a 42-49 day fledging period.

References

1. Clements, J. F., T. S. Schulenberg, M. J. Iliff, D. Roberson, T. A. Fredericks, B. L. Sullivan, and C. L. Wood. 2014. The eBird/Clements checklist of birds of the world: Version 6.9., with updates to August 2014. Downloaded from http://www.birds.cornell.edu/clementschecklist/download/

• List of references

Recommended Citation

• BirdForum Opus contributors. (2024) Nankeen Night Heron. In: BirdForum, the forum for wild birds and birding. Retrieved 26 April 2024 from https://www.birdforum.net/opus/Nankeen_Night_Heron

External Links

Search for photos of Nankeen Night Heron in the gallery

• View more images of this species on Orientalbirdimages