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 Raja Ampat
Pacific Reef Heron
Egretta sacra
Striated Heron
Butorides striata
Little Egret
Egretta garzetta
Great-billed Heron
Ardea sumatrana
Forest Bittern
Zonerodius heliosylus
intermediate egret
Egretta intermedia
Great Egret
Ardea alba
Pied Heron
Egretta picata
Australian White Ibis
Threskiornis molucca
Glossy Ibis
Plegadis falcinellus
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 Raja Ampat?
Under 5% of wildlife watchers report a Nankeen Night-Heron sighting in Raja Ampat, based on 25 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data.
When is the best time to see Nankeen Night-Heron in Raja Ampat?
July has the highest sighting rate for Nankeen Night-Heron in Raja Ampat in our monthly data.