📸 PhotoPhoto: https://www.flickr.com/photos/ken_san/ · CC BY-SA 2.0 · Wikimedia Commons Source
Japanese Night Heron
Gorsachius goisagi (Japanese Night Heron · ミゾゴイ)
🇰🇷 Class II endangered wildlife (Korea)
💡 Everyday Comparisons for Size, Mass & Speed
- 💡 Its body length of about 49 cm is roughly 1.6 times the long side of an A4 sheet of paper (29.7 cm) (Comparison).
- 💡 Its body length of about 49 cm is about 58% of the length of a baseball bat (about 84 cm) (Comparison).
Reference standards: coach bus ~12 m, mid-size car ~4.9 m, compact car ~1 t, basketball hoop 3.05 m, credit card 8.56 cm.
📖 1. Overview
The Japanese Night Heron is a nocturnal forest heron that breeds only in Japan and winters in southern Japan, southeastern China, and the Philippines. It is listed as Vulnerable (VU) by the IUCN.
🦴 2. Anatomy & Morphology
Its body length is about 49 cm.
🔍 3. Ecology & Behavior
It mainly eats crabs, along with other crustaceans, insects, earthworms, and small fish. From May to July, it nests solitarily in tall trees 7–20 m high and lays 3–4 eggs.
🇰🇷 4. Connection to Korea
In Korea, it is a Class II endangered wildlife species (Korea). The Heron Specialist Group notes that it appears rarely but regularly in Korea in spring and summer, with no confirmed breeding.
📚 Sources & References
- • IUCN Red List VU (2020) — https://www.iucnredlist.org/species/22697237/154698841
- • 멸종위기 야생생물 Ⅱ급 — 국가생물종목록(국립생물자원관) ktsn 120000001530 — https://species.nibr.go.kr/home/mainHome.do?cont_link=009&subMenu=009002&contCd=009002&ktsn=120000001530
- • IUCN Red List category VU — latest assessment at iucnredlist.org
- • Korean protection status: Class II endangered wildlife (Korea)
- • doi.org — avilist.v2026
- • iucnredlist.org — 154698841
- • 국가생물종목록(국립생물자원관) ktsn 120000001530 — https://species.nibr.go.kr/home/mainHome.do?cont_link=009&subMenu=009002&contCd=009002&ktsn=120000001530
- • wikidata.org — Q763116
- • commons.wikimedia.org — File:Japanese night heron (Gorsachius goisagi).jpg
- • heronconservation.org — japanese-night-heron
- • Silhouette: PhyloPic — Matej Frantisek Calfa · CC BY 4.0 (Related taxon silhouette — Egretta garzetta)
Recorded dimensions are widely cited representative estimates from public literature and may vary by study or specimen.