📸 PhotoPhoto: Rhododendrites · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons Source
Black-crowned Night Heron
Nycticorax nycticorax (Black-crowned Night Heron · ゴイサギ)
💡 Everyday Comparisons for Size, Mass & Speed
- 💡 Its average weight of 800 g is lighter than a 1 kg bag of sugar (Comparison).
- 💡 At the Smithsonian's National Zoo in the United States, wild Black-crowned Night Herons reportedly fly in and steal mice meant for the Marabou Storks (Smithsonian's National Zoo).
- 💡 Because it rests in forests or by the water during the day and becomes active around dusk, it is easy to encounter along riversides in the evening (National List of Species of Korea).
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.
Site-computed relative index from recorded values; not a formal scientific metric.
📖 1. Overview
The Black-crowned Night Heron is a nocturnal heron in the family Ardeidae characterized by a short, thick neck and red eyes. It is widely distributed across Eurasia, Africa, and Southeast Asia.
🦴 2. Anatomy & Morphology
It is black from the head to the hindneck with a greenish-black back, and 2–3 long white ornamental plumes hang down from the back of the head. Its legs are yellow and its bill is black.
🔍 3. Ecology & Behavior
It hunts fish, frogs, and reptiles, and is active mainly at night and at dawn and dusk. Together with other herons, it nests in trees in breeding colonies and incubates 3–5 eggs for 20–22 days.
🇰🇷 4. Connection to Korea
It is a relatively common summer visitor in wetlands nationwide, with some individuals wintering in the south. It was rare before 1990, but breeding numbers have steadily increased in recent years.
📚 Sources & References
- • IUCN Red List LC (2025) — https://www.iucnredlist.org/species/22697211/280905252
- • IUCN Red List category LC — latest assessment at iucnredlist.org
- • doi.org — avilist.v2026
- • iucnredlist.org — 280905252
- • 국가생물종목록(국립생물자원관) ktsn 120000001533 — https://species.nibr.go.kr/home/mainHome.do?cont_link=009&subMenu=009002&contCd=009002&ktsn=120000001533
- • wikidata.org — Q126216
- • commons.wikimedia.org — File:Black-crowned night heron in PP (36399).jpg
- • species.nibr.go.kr — mainHome.do
- • animaldiversity.org — Nycticorax nycticorax
- • nationalzoo.si.edu — black-crowned-night-heron
- • Silhouette: PhyloPic — Andy Wilson · CC0 1.0
Recorded dimensions are widely cited representative estimates from public literature and may vary by study or specimen.