Nyctanassa violacea

The yellow-crowned night-heron is one of two species of night herons found in the Americas, the other one being the black-crowned night heron. The Yellow-crowned Night-Heron is a rather stocky wading bird, ranging from 55 to 70 cm and from 650 to 800 grams, the females being a little smaller than the males. The neck, slim when extended, gives the bird a comically large head compared to its body, with a large and heavy bill. The Yellow-crowned Night-Heron looks for shallow water to live in: marshes, wooded swamps, and lakeshores for inland populations, and thickets, mangroves and cliff-bound coasts for coastal populations. It can also be found in areas that don’t always have enough water, but that get flooded on a regular basis. this species is in the process of being placed on the endangered species list