Great Blue Heron vs Yellow-crowned Night-Heron
Ardea herodias compared with Nyctanassa violacea
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Attribute | Great Blue Heron | Yellow-crowned Night-Heron |
|---|---|---|
| Scientific Name | Ardea herodias | Nyctanassa violacea |
| Order | Pelecaniformes | Pelecaniformes |
| Family | Ardeidae | Ardeidae |
| Conservation Status | Least Concern | Least Concern |
| Length | 117.0 cm (46.1 in) | — |
| Wingspan | 183.0 cm (72.0 in) | 56.8 cm (22.4 in) |
| Weight | 2400.0 g (84.66 oz) | 703.75 g (24.82 oz) |
| Diet | Primarily fish, also frogs, snakes, small mammals, insects, and other birds. Hunts by standing motionless … | -- |
| Clutch Size | 2-7 | 2-8 |
| Population Trend | — | — |
Size Comparison
Habitat Comparison
Shared Habitats
Great Blue Heron only
Yellow-crowned Night-Heron only
Great Blue Heron
Wetlands of all types including marshes, swamps, riverbanks, lake edges, and coastal shores. Also hunts in fields and meadows.
Song & Call Comparison
Great Blue Heron
Deep, harsh, croaking 'frahnk-frahnk' call in flight. Also gives low guttural grunts at the nest. Alarmed birds give repeated croaks. Mostly silent for such a large wader.
Yellow-crowned Night-Heron
Geographic Range & Migration
Great Blue Heron
North and Central America from Alaska and southern Canada to the Caribbean and Galapagos Islands.
Yellow-crowned Night-Heron
Conservation Status
Great Blue Heron
Yellow-crowned Night-Heron
How to Tell Them Apart
Great Blue Heron
Blue-grey body with a white head bearing a broad black stripe extending to a long black plume. Rufous-brown thighs. In flight, the neck is folded into an S-shape.
Long, dagger-like yellowish bill
Yellow-crowned Night-Heron
About These Birds
Great Blue Heron
The great blue heron is the largest heron in North America, standing up to 1.4 meters tall. These patient hunters can stand motionless for extended periods before striking at prey with remarkable speed. They nest in large colonies called heronries, often returning to the same site year after year.
Yellow-crowned Night-Heron
The Yellow-crowned Night-Heron (Nyctanassa violacea) is a medium-sized heron of the family Ardeidae found throughout the Americas. It is the sole member of its genus and differs structurally and behaviorally from the Black-crowned Night-Heron (Nycticorax nycticorax). Adults are elegantly patterned with a blue-gray body, black and white facial pattern, a pale yellow to cream crown, and long white plumes trailing from the head in breeding plumage. The bill is stout and relatively thick compared to other herons, an adaptation for …