Yellow-crowned Night-Heron
Yellow-crowned Night-HeronYellow-crowned Night-HeronYellow-crowned Night-HeronYellow-crowned Night-Heron

Yellow-crowned Night-Heron

Nyctanassa violacea

Silhouette: Sheatherius · PhyloPic

Least ConcernNear ThreatenedVulnerableEndangeredCritically Endangered
Daily sighting probability ~20% · Possible
at Ciénaga de Zapata
305 Verified sightings at Ciénaga de Zapata From 2019 to 2026
14,165 Verified sightings across all 59 parks From 2019 to 2026
July Best month highest sighting rate
☀️ Diurnal When it's spotted during daytime hours (6am–6pm)

About the Yellow-crowned Night-Heron

The yellow-crowned night heron (Nyctanassa violacea) is one of two species of night heron in the genus Nyctanassa. Unlike the black-crowned night heron, which has a worldwide distribution, the yellow-crowned is restricted to the Americas. It is known as the bihoreau violacé in French and the pedrete corona clara or yaboa común in some Spanish-speaking countries.

The yellow-crowned night heron was formally described by the Swedish naturalist Carl Linnaeus in 1758 in the tenth edition of his Systema Naturae. He placed it with herons, cranes and egrets in the genus Ardea and coined the binomial name Ardea violacea. Linnaeus based his account on the "crested bittern" that had been described in 1729–1732 by the English naturalist Mark Catesby in the first volume of his The Natural History of Carolina, Florida and the Bahama Islands. Linnaeus specified the type locality as North America, but this has been restricted to the Carolinas following Catesby. The yellow-crowned night heron is now placed together with the extinct Bermuda night heron in the genus Nyctanassa that was introduced in 1887 by the Norwegian born zoologist Leonhard Stejneger. Its congener, the Bermuda night... Wikipedia →

Closest Relatives at Ciénaga de Zapata

Green Heron

Green Heron

☀️ Diurnal Bird

Butorides virescens

Daily sighting probability ~40% · Likely
Great Blue Heron
LC

Great Blue Heron

☀️ Diurnal Bird

Ardea herodias

Daily sighting probability ~40% · Likely
Great Egret
LC

Great Egret

☀️ Diurnal Bird

Ardea alba

Daily sighting probability ~40% · Likely
Tricolored Heron
LC

Tricolored Heron

☀️ Diurnal Bird

Egretta tricolor

Daily sighting probability ~30% · Possible
Little Blue Heron
LC

Little Blue Heron

☀️ Diurnal Bird

Egretta caerulea

Daily sighting probability ~30% · Possible
Cattle Egret
LC

Cattle Egret

☀️ Diurnal Bird

Bubulcus ibis

Daily sighting probability ~30% · Possible
Snowy Egret
LC

Snowy Egret

☀️ Diurnal Bird

Egretta thula

Daily sighting probability ~30% · Possible
Reddish Egret
NT

Reddish Egret

☀️ Diurnal Bird

Egretta rufescens

Daily sighting probability ~30% · Possible
Black-crowned Night Heron
LC

Black-crowned Night Heron

☀️ Diurnal Bird

Nycticorax nycticorax

Daily sighting probability ~20% · Possible
American Bittern
LC

American Bittern

☀️ Diurnal Bird

Botaurus lentiginosus

Daily sighting probability Insufficient data
White Ibis
LC

White Ibis

☀️ Diurnal Bird

Eudocimus albus

Daily sighting probability ~40% · Likely
Roseate Spoonbill
LC

Roseate Spoonbill

☀️ Diurnal Bird

Platalea ajaja

Daily sighting probability ~30% · Possible

Global Distribution

Warmer areas are where this animal is recorded most often.

Parks Where Found

# Park Country Daily sighting probability
1 Caroni Swamp 🇹🇹 Trinidad and Tobago
~60%
2 Utría National Natural Park 🇨🇴 Colombia
~50%
3 Machalilla National Park 🇪🇨 Ecuador
~30%
4 Celestún Biosphere Reserve 🇲🇽 Mexico
~30%
5 Ría Lagartos Biosphere Reserve 🇲🇽 Mexico
~30%
6 Tortuguero National Park 🇨🇷 Costa Rica
~30%
7 Ostional Wildlife Refuge 🇨🇷 Costa Rica
~30%
8 Galápagos Islands 🇪🇨 Ecuador
~20%
9 Bahía de Loreto National Park 🇲🇽 Mexico
~20%
10 Gandoca-Manzanillo Wildlife Refuge 🇨🇷 Costa Rica
~20%
11 El Vizcaíno Biosphere Reserve 🇲🇽 Mexico
~20%
12 Las Baulas Marine National Park 🇨🇷 Costa Rica
~20%
13 Isla del Coco National Park 🇨🇷 Costa Rica
~20%
14 Ciénaga de Zapata 🇨🇺 Cuba
~20%
15 Palo Verde National Park 🇨🇷 Costa Rica
~20%
16 Cabo Blanco Absolute Nature Reserve 🇨🇷 Costa Rica
~10%
17 Cahuita National Park 🇨🇷 Costa Rica
~10%
18 Los Haitises National Park 🇩🇴 Dominican Republic
~10%
19 Tayrona National Natural Park 🇨🇴 Colombia
~10%
20 Bastimentos Island National Marine Park 🇵🇦 Panama
~10%
21 Darién National Park 🇵🇦 Panama
~10%
22 Everglades National Park 🇺🇸 United States
~10%
23 Big Cypress National Preserve 🇺🇸 United States
~10%
24 Corcovado National Park 🇨🇷 Costa Rica
~10%
25 Montes Azules Biosphere Reserve 🇲🇽 Mexico
~10%
26 Jaragua National Park 🇩🇴 Dominican Republic
~10%
27 Sian Ka'an Biosphere Reserve 🇲🇽 Mexico
~10%
28 La Amistad International Park (Panama) 🇵🇦 Panama
~10%
29 Cañón del Sumidero National Park 🇲🇽 Mexico
<5%
30 Tikal National Park 🇬🇹 Guatemala
<5%
31 Santa Rosa National Park 🇨🇷 Costa Rica
<5%
32 Manuel Antonio National Park 🇨🇷 Costa Rica
<5%
33 Congaree National Park 🇺🇸 United States
<5%
34 Coiba National Park 🇵🇦 Panama
<5%
35 Arrecifes de Cozumel National Park 🇲🇽 Mexico
<5%
36 Lago de Yojoa 🇭🇳 Honduras
<5%
37 Marino Ballena National Park 🇨🇷 Costa Rica
<5%
38 Piedras Blancas National Park 🇨🇷 Costa Rica
<5%
39 Main Ridge Forest Reserve 🇹🇹 Trinidad and Tobago
<5%
40 Pico Bonito National Park 🇭🇳 Honduras
<5%
41 Cerro Azul Meámbar National Park 🇭🇳 Honduras
<5%
42 Carara National Park 🇨🇷 Costa Rica
<5%
43 Blue and John Crow Mountains National Park 🇯🇲 Jamaica
<5%
44 Calakmul Biosphere Reserve 🇲🇽 Mexico
<5%
45 Braulio Carrillo National Park 🇨🇷 Costa Rica
<5%
46 Soberanía National Park 🇵🇦 Panama
<5%
47 Tijuca National Park 🇧🇷 Brazil
<5%
48 Arenal Volcano National Park 🇨🇷 Costa Rica
<5%
49 Shenandoah National Park 🇺🇸 United States
<5%
50 San Lorenzo Protected Forest 🇵🇦 Panama
Insufficient data
51 Tapantí-Macizo de la Muerte National Park 🇨🇷 Costa Rica
Insufficient data
52 Monteverde Cloud Forest Reserve 🇨🇷 Costa Rica
Insufficient data
53 Henri Pittier National Park 🇻🇪 Venezuela
Insufficient data
54 Biotopo Cerro Cahuí 🇬🇹 Guatemala
Insufficient data
55 Cockscomb Basin Wildlife Sanctuary 🇧🇿 Belize
Insufficient data
56 Tenorio Volcano National Park 🇨🇷 Costa Rica
Insufficient data
57 Parque Natural Metropolitano 🇵🇦 Panama
Insufficient data
58 Los Nevados National Natural Park 🇨🇴 Colombia
Insufficient data
59 Acadia National Park 🇺🇸 United States
Insufficient data

Quick answers

What are the chances of seeing a Yellow-crowned Night-Heron in Ciénaga de Zapata?

About 20% of wildlife watchers report a Yellow-crowned Night-Heron sighting in Ciénaga de Zapata, based on 305 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data.

When is the best time to see Yellow-crowned Night-Heron in Ciénaga de Zapata?

July has the highest sighting rate for Yellow-crowned Night-Heron in Ciénaga de Zapata in our monthly data.

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