As their names imply, Black-crowned and Yellow-crowned Night-Herons are creatures of the darkness – but they can often be seen hunting for food during the day in early spring as they begin to nest and later in summer as their young leave the nest to strike out on their own. These species are similar in size and shape: short, stocky birds with a pointed bill, short neck and legs, and extra-large red eyes. Black-crowned Night-Herons do indeed have a black crown – as adults. And Yellow-crowned Night-Herons have a white to yellow (or dirty white) crown. The Black-crowned Night-Heron is a generalist -- it eats whatever fish or other small animal it can capture. It is also fairly cosmopolitan, found in wetland areas on every continent except Australia and Antarctica. The Yellow-crowned Night-Heron is more selective in its food, much preferring crabs and crayfish. It is primarily a bird of coastal areas and dense vegetation of wooded wetlands. Local places where both might be seen are Six-mile Cypress Slough and Corkscrew Sanctuary.
Juveniles of these two species are somewhat similar in appearance. Both are mostly gray but with subtle distances in plumage and very distinct differences in bill size and color. Yellow-crowned Night-Herons – even as juveniles – have a larger bill that is nearly solid black; Black-crowned Night-Herons have a mostly yellow lower bill and a black upper bill with a bit of yellow at the base.