On the hunt

On the hunt by ricmcarthur
On the hunt, a photo by ricmcarthur on Flickr.
This black crowned night heron forgot to check the time and was out hunting in the middle of the day.
We watched him from across a drainage ditch using the car as a blind( hide for my European friends).
He was successful and had sushi for lunch.
Adults are light-gray birds with a neatly defined black back and black crown. Immatures are brown with large white spots on the wings and blurry streaks on the underparts. Adults have all-black bills; immatures have yellow-and-black bills.

Scientific stuff -
Nycticorax nycticorax

Scientists find it easy, if a bit smelly and messy, to study the diet of young Black-crowned Night-Herons—the nestlings often disgorge their stomach contents when approached.

Young Black-crowned Night-Herons leave the nest at the age of 1 month but cannot fly until they are 6 weeks old. They move through the vegetation on foot, joining up in foraging flocks at night.

www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/black-crowned_night-heron/id

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