Image id: 09ECU-3231

The Yellow-crowned Night Heron (Nycticorax violaceus or Nyctanassa violacea) is seen on Isla Genovesa (or Tower Island), and common throughout the Galápagos Islands, Ecuador, South America. It is mainly active at night catching beetles, locusts, insects, crabs, scorpions and centipedes. They have short yellow legs, orange or red eyes with a white stripe below, a white crown and white back with the remainder of the body grayish. Juveniles resemble young Black-crowned Night-Herons, being mainly brown flecked with white or gray. The Yellow-crowned Night Heron is similar in appearance to the Black-crowned Night Heron. In warmer locations of the Americas, such as coastal Brazil, some are permanent residents; others migrate to Central America and the West Indies. They may occasionally wander north to the lower Great Lakes or Ontario after the breeding season.