Nankeen Night-Heron
Nycticorax caledonicus
- KingdomAnimalia (Animals)
- PhylumChordata (Chordates)
- ClassAves (Birds)
- OrderPelecaniformes (Pelicans, Herons, Ibises, and Allies)
- FamilyArdeidae (Herons, Egrets, and Bitterns)
- GenusNycticorax (Typical Night Herons)
- SpeciesNycticorax caledonicus (Nankeen Night-Heron)
About the Nankeen Night-Heron
The nankeen night heron (Nycticorax caledonicus) is a heron that belongs to the genus Nycticorax and the family Ardeidae. Due to its distinctive reddish-brown colour, it is also commonly referred to as the rufous night heron. It is primarily nocturnal and is observed in a broad range of habitats, including forests, meadows, shores, reefs, marshes, grasslands, and swamps. The species is 55 to 65 cm (22 to 26 in) in length, with rich cinnamon upperparts and white underparts. The nankeen night heron has a stable population size, and is classified as a species of least concern by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN).
The nankeen night heron was formally described in 1789 by the German naturalist Johann Friedrich Gmelin in his revised and expanded edition of Carl Linnaeus's Systema Naturae. He placed it with herons, cranes and storks in the genus Ardea and coined the binomial name Ardea caledonica. Gmelin based his description on the "Caledonian night heron" that had been described in 1875 by the English ornithologist John Latham in his multi-volume work A General Synopsis of Birds. The heron had been observed in September 1774 on the island of New Caledonia... Wikipedia →
Closest Relatives at Cape Range
Pacific Reef Heron
Egretta sacra
Great Egret
Ardea alba
White-faced Heron
Egretta novaehollandiae
Striated Heron
Butorides striata
Little Egret
Egretta garzetta
Ardea modesta
Ardea modesta
White-necked Heron
Ardea pacifica
Australian Pelican
Pelecanus conspicillatus
Glossy Ibis
Plegadis falcinellus
Australian White Ibis
Threskiornis molucca
Global Distribution
Where this species is recorded worldwide. Restricted to human observations from 2019 onwards — the same kind of record and the same period the probabilities on this page are built from, so collar-tracking studies, camera-trap arrays and museum specimens are excluded. Around Santa Rosa that removes 5,924 GPS fixes from a handful of tagged jaguars.
where this species is recorded (GBIF density — it tracks where observers go, not how likely a sighting is) · parks where it occurs — tap a pin for the sighting probability there
Parks Where Found
Quick answers
What are the chances of seeing a Nankeen Night-Heron in Cape Range?
About 10% of wildlife watchers report a Nankeen Night-Heron sighting in Cape Range, based on 18 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data.
When is the best time to see Nankeen Night-Heron in Cape Range?
April has the highest sighting rate for Nankeen Night-Heron in Cape Range in our monthly data.