Nankeen Night-Heron
Nankeen Night-HeronNankeen Night-HeronNankeen Night-HeronNankeen Night-Heron

Nankeen Night-Heron

Nycticorax caledonicus

Silhouette: Ferran Sayol · PhyloPic

Least ConcernNear ThreatenedVulnerableEndangeredCritically Endangered
Daily sighting probability Insufficient data
at Cradle Mountain-Lake St Clair National Park
1 Verified sightings at Cradle Mountain-Lake St Clair National Park From 2019 to 2026
1,595 Verified sightings across all 25 parks From 2019 to 2026
☀️ Diurnal When it's spotted during daytime hours (6am–6pm)

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 →

Global Distribution

Warmer areas are where this animal is recorded most often.

Parks Where Found

# Park Country Daily sighting probability
1 Kakadu National Park 🇦🇺 Australia
~40%
2 Daintree National Park 🇦🇺 Australia
~20%
3 Kosciuszko National Park 🇦🇺 Australia
~10%
4 Tangkoko Nature Reserve 🇮🇩 Indonesia
~10%
5 Cape Range 🇦🇺 Australia
~10%
6 Nitmiluk National Park 🇦🇺 Australia
~10%
7 Ningaloo Marine Park 🇦🇺 Australia
<5%
8 Grampians National Park 🇦🇺 Australia
<5%
9 Royal National Park 🇦🇺 Australia
<5%
10 Kinabatangan Wildlife Sanctuary 🇲🇾 Malaysia
<5%
11 Litchfield National Park 🇦🇺 Australia
<5%
12 Great Otway National Park 🇦🇺 Australia
<5%
13 Raja Ampat 🇮🇩 Indonesia
<5%
14 Danum Valley Conservation Area 🇲🇾 Malaysia
<5%
15 Blue Mountains National Park 🇦🇺 Australia
<5%
16 Sepilok 🇲🇾 Malaysia
Insufficient data
17 Komodo National Park 🇮🇩 Indonesia
Insufficient data
18 Uluru-Kata Tjuta National Park 🇦🇺 Australia
Insufficient data
19 Booderee National Park 🇦🇺 Australia
Insufficient data
20 Wilsons Promontory National Park 🇦🇺 Australia
Insufficient data
21 Springbrook National Park 🇦🇺 Australia
Insufficient data
22 Cradle Mountain-Lake St Clair National Park 🇦🇺 Australia
Insufficient data
23 Maria Island National Park 🇦🇺 Australia
Insufficient data
24 Bali Barat National Park 🇮🇩 Indonesia
Insufficient data
25 Lamington National Park 🇦🇺 Australia
Insufficient data
← Back to Cradle Mountain-Lake St Clair National Park