Volume 34, Plate VI / Ornithology (Birds)

Common Night-Heron

Nycticorax Gardenii

A nocturnal bird of marshes that skulks by day and feeds at twilight on fish and aquatic reptiles, the Common Night-Heron appears in Britain only occasionally. The adult shows pearl-grey wings and tail, pure white under parts, a glossy greenish-black crown and back, and about three white occipital plumes, while the young, once called the Gardenian Heron, is wood-brown marked with triangular white spots and lacks the crest.