Friday's Foto

Yellow-crowned Night-Herons are chunky, medium-sized wading birds found along coastlines. This mostly nocturnal species often feeds during the day. A preferred food around the Brooklyn coast is Fiddler Crabs. The easiest place to spot one is in Marine Park along Gerritsen Creek. This spring a pair successfully nested on Governor's Island. According to the "Helm Dictionary of Scientific Bird Names", this specie's scientific name, Nyctanassa violacea, means "night queen" (or "night duck"), "violet colored". The latter referring to the iridescent highlights seen on their flight feathers in good light. The IUCN Redlist currently lists this species as "Least Concern" due to their extremely large range and fairly high population.