"Beautiful" Night heron (Anhinga Trail, thursday5)

Behavior:
Black-crowned night herons are social at all times of the year, associating with other species of herons frequently. In the winter, it roosts communally. It is a migrating species. The normal call is a 'Qua,' 'Quak,' or 'Quark.' These calls are most often given in flight or from a perch. The fact that this night heron feeds throughout the night means that it avoids competition with day herons which use the same habitat. Feeding sites are used repeatedly. When feeding, it alights on water feet first, or plunges from the air. When walking, it usually keeps its head and neck lowered, and it rarely runs. It may retract its feet when flying on cold days in order to conserve heat. The young leave their perches and huddle in the nest when cold. Black-crowned night herons defend both feeding and nesting territory. The young can be aggressive, regurgitating or defecating on human intruders. (Davis, 1993)(read more)
Ivory, A. 2002. "Nycticorax nycticorax" (On-line), Animal Diversity Web. Accessed February 06, 2009 at http://animaldiversity.ummz.umich.edu/site/accounts/information/Nycticorax_nycticorax.html.

Photos by Juan Aguero (juanKa)
Anhinga Trail, Everglades National Park
Camera Canon 40D, Lens Canon 300mm L IS