Yellow-crowned Night-Heron

Nyctanassa violacea

Silhouette: Sheatherius · PhyloPic

Least ConcernNear ThreatenedVulnerableEndangeredCritically Endangered

KingdomAnimalia (Animals)
PhylumChordata (Chordates)
ClassAves (Birds)
OrderPelecaniformes (Pelicans, Herons, Ibises, and Allies)
FamilyArdeidae (Herons, Egrets, and Bitterns)
GenusNyctanassa (Yellow-crowned and Bermuda Night Herons)
SpeciesNyctanassa violacea (Yellow-crowned Night-Heron)

Daily sighting probability Insufficient data

at Cockscomb Basin Wildlife Sanctuary

3 Verified sightings at Cockscomb Basin Wildlife Sanctuary From 2019 to 2026

14,165 Verified sightings across all 59 parks From 2019 to 2026

☀️ 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 Cockscomb Basin Wildlife Sanctuary

Agamia agami

Daily sighting probability ~10% · With luck

Bubulcus ibis

Daily sighting probability ~10% · With luck

Cochlearius cochlearius

Daily sighting probability <5% · Rare

Tigrisoma mexicanum

Daily sighting probability <5% · Rare

Ardea alba

Daily sighting probability <5% · Rare

Egretta caerulea

Daily sighting probability <5% · Rare

Butorides virescens

Daily sighting probability <5% · Rare

Egretta thula

Daily sighting probability <5% · Rare

Nycticorax nycticorax

Daily sighting probability Insufficient data

Egretta tricolor

Daily sighting probability Insufficient data

Ardea herodias

Daily sighting probability Insufficient data

Eudocimus albus

Daily sighting probability Insufficient data

See all 12 relatives Show fewer

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

← Back to Cockscomb Basin Wildlife Sanctuary

Yellow-crowned Night-Heron

About the Yellow-crowned Night-Heron

Recent sightings of Yellow-crowned Night-Heron in Cockscomb Basin Wildlife Sanctuary

Closest Relatives at Cockscomb Basin Wildlife Sanctuary

Agami Heron

Cattle Egret

Boat-billed Heron

Bare-throated Tiger Heron

Great Egret

Little Blue Heron

Green Heron

Snowy Egret

Black-crowned Night Heron

Tricolored Heron

Great Blue Heron

White Ibis

Global Distribution

Parks Where Found