Black-crowned Night-Heron
Learn to identify the Black-crowned Night-Heron by ear. Master the "kwok!" phrase and tell it apart from similar species.
What the Black-crowned Night-Heron sounds like
Stocky, medium-sized heron with a striking black crown and back contrasting with pale gray wings and white underparts. Primarily crepuscular and nocturnal, it spends days hunched on branches or reed edges and becomes active at dusk, flying with slow, purposeful wingbeats to feeding sites.
“kwok!”
How to tell it apart
Where you'll hear it
Marshes, lakes, ponds, tidal flats, mangroves, flooded rice fields, and even city park lakes—anywhere shallow water and cover for daytime roosting are available.
Migratory in cooler parts of North America, Europe, and Asia; resident or only locally dispersive in the tropics.
Similar species
Yellow-crowned Night-Heron
Yellow-crowned has thicker bill and yellowish crown stripe.
Green Heron
Much smaller and slimmer.