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Rufous (Nankeen) Night Heron (Nycticorax caledonicus) Alternate name(s): "Night Heron"; misnomer: "Nankeen Crane" Aboriginal name(s): Race "hilli": "dharrun" [yuwaalaraay], "yirrin" [yuwaalaraay]; "ngalgan", "ngalganing" (WA); "oroo" Size: 55-65 cm Weight: 550-900 g

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Similar species

Description     Classification     Distribution     Sightings     Photos     Breeding     Nest     Eggs     Behaviour     Food     Call/s

Physical description Click here for a physical description Rufous (Nankeen) Night Herons are small, primarily nocturnal herons. They have a white and rufous-brown plumage. The upperparts (nape of the neck, mantle and wings) are rufous, the front (breast, belly) is white. The underwing pattern shows white coverts and light-rufous wing feathers. They have a black cap. During the breeding season it is adorned with two thin nuchal plumes. The irises are yellow-orange; the bill is dark-grey, legs and feet are yellow. Immature birds are mottled rufous, with a black cap and remnants of juvenile wing coverts. Juvenile birds have cryptic plumage, with a striated front and spotted wings. Their bill is yellow-greenish.

Taxonomy, classification See Rufous (Nankeen) Night Heron at Wikipedia .

Range, habitat, finding this species Click here for information on habitat and range The overall distribution of this species can be assessed based on sighting reports submitted by birdwatchers to ebird.org . The global distribution of the Rufous (Nankeen) Night Heron is available HERE . Rufous (Nankeen) Night Herons populate large parts of Australia, parts of Papua New Guinea, eastern Indonesia and the Philippines. They are also found on basically all South Pacific Islands and there are some reports from New Zealand. Rufous (Nankeen) Night Herons, race "hilli", are endemic to Australia. They inhabit basically the coastal fringe around Australia, including parts of Tasmania, and the northern tropics, plus roughly the eastern half of the continent. They are only rarely found in the southern half of the NT and not at all in the arid interior of WA and western SA. There are no Rufous (Nankeen) Night Herons along the coastline of the Great Bight either. Rufous (Nankeen) Night Herons can be found in almost any kind of wetland, from tidal flats and estuaries to rivers, lakes, irrigation dams, farm dams and even garden ponds, where they hunt in shallow water.

Sightings Click here for sighting information Race "hilli" A Rufous (Nankeen) Night Heron, race "hilli", in breeding plumage was first spotted by us on a bank of the Namoi River near Boggabri, NSW, in November 2006. A small number of Rufous (Nankeen) Night Herons, race "hilli", reside at Narrabri Lake, Narrabri, NSW, when there is water in the lake. Others were spotted by us and C. Hayne in various wetlands in the North-west Slopes and Plains of NSW, e.g. at Macquarie Marshes NR, in the Gwydir Wetlands near Moree, NSW, and further downstream, near Walgett, NSW, on the banks of the Barwon River. C. Hayne reports that every year Rufous (Nankeen) Night Herons, race "hilli", breed in large numbers at several waterholes in the Gwydir Wetlands, some 50 km West of Moree, NSW. I. Duncan reports spotting a Rufous (Nankeen) Night Heron, race "hilli", at Glen Iris wetlands, in a suburb of Melbourne, VIC, in February 2013. A few Rufous (Nankeen) Night Herons, race "hilli", were also spotted by us on a trip to the West coast of WA, near Geraldton, in July 2003. T. Rodoni reports the presence of a Rufous (Nankeen) Night Heron, race "hilli", in South Yunderup, WA, that scavenges food from various households in the area, e.g. by landing on people's balcony tables and refusing to leave until fed. We spotted at least two Rufous (Nankeen) Night Herons, race "hilli", in monsoon forest along Palm Creek, Holmes Jungle NP, Darwin, NT, in August 2014. J. Ross-Taylor reports spotting Rufous (Nankeen) Night Herons, race "hilli", at Highland Park, Gold Coast, QLD, in August 2014. Other contributors have since reported the species from other locations on the eastern side of the Great Dividing Range, in various locations along both the QLD and the NSW coastal fringe. J. Greaves reports spotting Rufous (Nankeen) Night Herons,race "hilli", at Yellow Water billabong, Kakadu NP, NT, in November 2014 and at Herdsman Lake, Perth, WA, in December 2014. J. Wilkins reports spotting a group of 8 Rufous (Nankeen) Night Herons, race "hilli", at the southern end of their range, at Crooked Tree Point, Cygnet, Tasmania, in May 2015. P. Brown found Rufous (Nankeen) Night Herons, race "hilli", nesting at Cullen Bay, Darwin, NT, in December 2017. The species is also seen in various other locations in and around Darwin, NT, semi-regularly.

Photos

Race "hilli"

ADULT

BREEDING

Frontal view of an adult Rufous (Nankeen) Night Heron in breeding plumage (photo courtesy of J. Ross-Taylor)
[Highland Park, Gold Coast, QLD, August 2014]

Frontal view of a Rufous (Nankeen) Night Heron in breeding plumage (photo courtesy of J. Ross-Taylor)
[Highland Park, Gold Coast, QLD, August 2014]

Close-up frontal view of an adult Rufous (Nankeen) Night Heron in breeding plumage (photo courtesy of I. Duncan)
[Glen Iris wetlands, Melbourne, VIC, February 2013]

Lateral view of an adult Rufous (Nankeen) Night Heron in breeding plumage (photo courtesy of I. Duncan)
[Glen Iris wetlands, Melbourne, VIC, February 2013]

Lateral view of an adult Rufous (Nankeen) Night Heron in breeding plumage, now in bright sunlight
(photo courtesy of I. Duncan)
[Glen Iris wetlands, Melbourne, VIC, February 2013]

The same Rufous (Nankeen) Night Heron as above, now with its bill partly open (photo courtesy of I. Duncan)
[Glen Iris wetlands, Melbourne, VIC, February 2013]

Close-up near-dorsal view of a Rufous (Nankeen) Night Heron in breeding plumage (photo courtesy of P. Brown)
[Knuckey Lagoon, Darwin, NT, November 2018]

Near-dorsal view of a Rufous (Nankeen) Night Heron in breeding plumage hiding in dark underbrush
(photo courtesy of J. Greaves)
[Herdsman Lake, Perth, WA, December 2014]

Lateral view of an adult Rufous (Nankeen) Night Heron in flight
[Narrabri Lake, NSW, October 2012]

Near-dorsal view of an adult Rufous (Nankeen) Night Heron in flight
[Narrabri Lake, NSW, October 2012]

NON-BREEDING

Close-up frontal portrait of an adult Rufous (Nankeen) Night Heron in non-breeding plumage (photo courtesy of M. Eaton)
[Anstead Reserve, Anstead, QLD, June 2017]

Close-up lateral view of an adult Rufous (Nankeen) Night Heron in non-breeding plumage (photo courtesy of M. Eaton)
[Anstead Reserve, Anstead, QLD, June 2017]

Adult Rufous (Nankeen) Night Heron in non-breeding plumage in flight displaying its upperwing pattern
[Narrabri Lake, NSW, April 2013]

Adult Rufous (Nankeen) Night Heron in non-breeding plumage in flight displaying its underwing pattern
[Narrabri Lake, NSW, April 2013]

IMMATURE/JUVENILE

Frontal view of a juvenile Rufous (Nankeen) Night Heron (photo courtesy of M. Eaton)
[Lake Broadwater, near Dalby, QLD, January 2018]

Frontal view of a juvenile Rufous (Nankeen) Night Heron on a low perch
[Yarrie Lake, near Wee Waa, NSW, October 2011]

Now the Rufous (Nankeen) Night Heron has seen something in the water under its perch
[Yarrie Lake, near Wee Waa, NSW, October 2011]

Lateral view of a Rufous (Nankeen) Night Heron
[Near Walgett, NSW, June 2012]

Lateral view of a juvenile Rufous (Nankeen) Night Heron high up in a tree...
[Yarrie Lake, near Wee Waa, NSW, October 2011]

Immature Rufous (Nankeen) Night Heron having a good look at the nosy photographer
[Yarrie Lake, near Wee Waa, NSW, October 2011]

Immature Rufous (Nankeen) Night Heron in flight
[Narrabri Lake, Narrabri, NSW, March 2017]

Dorsal view of a juvenile Rufous (Nankeen) Night Heron in flight
[Near Moree, NSW, April 2012]

Upon landing this juvenile Rufous (Nankeen) Night Heron displays its wing pattern
[Yarrie Lake, near Wee Waa, NSW, October 2011]

Near-frontal view of a juvenile Rufous (Nankeen) Night Heron (photo courtesy of C. Hayne)

Near-fledging age Rufous (Nankeen) Night Heron that does not have flight yet, waiting to be fed by its parents
[Macquarie Marshes NR, NSW, April 2011]

Breeding information

Breeding season: Sep - Jan

Eggs: 2 - 4

Incubation period: 21 - 22 days

Fledging age: 42 - 49 days

The breeding season of Rufous (Nankeen) Night Herons depends on geographical latitude. The period listed in the table above refers to the SE of Australia. In the tropical North the breeding season is usually late in the wet season, i.e. February-April.

Nest building: ?

Incubation: Female & male

Dependent care: Female & male

Nest

"bungobittah", "malunna" = nest [Aboriginal]

Type: Basket

Material: Sticks

Height above ground: <5(?) m

Rufous (Nankeen) Night Heron usually nest on horizontal forks in standing in, or at least near, water in swamps, shallows of lakes or intertidal wetlands.

Two Rufous (Nankeen) Night Heron chicks studying the observer (photo courtesy of P. Brown)
[Cullen Bay, Darwin, NT, December 2017]

Two Rufous (Nankeen) Night Heron chicks studying the observer (photo courtesy of P. Brown)
[Cullen Bay, Darwin, NT, December 2017]

View from below of the stick nest of a pair of Rufous (Nankeen) Night Herons (photo courtesy of P. Brown)
[Cullen Bay, Darwin, NT, December 2017]

One of the owners of the Rufous (Nankeen) Night Heron nest shown above (photo courtesy of P. Brown)
[Cullen Bay, Darwin, NT, December 2017]

Eggs

"boyanga", "booyanga", "derinya", "dirandil", "koomura", "ngampu", "nooluk", "pateena" = Egg; "dirundirri" = eggs [Aboriginal]; "gawu" = eggs [gamilaraay]

Size: 50 x 37 mm

Colour: Pale blue-green

Shape: Tapered oval

Behaviour

Social behaviour: Communal

Mobility: Sedentary/dispersive

Elementary unit: Pair/family

Although predominantly nocturnal, Rufous (Nankeen) Night Herons have been observed by us regularly when active during the day (and not flushed by us). We have seen them hunting in the morning, near midday and early afternoon. In major wetlands they can be seen in their thousands in a small area.

Part of a larger population of Rufous (Nankeen) Night Herons in a swamp at Yarrie Lake, 30 km west of Narrabri, NSW
[Yarrie Lake, near Wee Waa, NSW, August 2012]

At Macquarie Marshes NR we observed a bird walking to and fro on a major, almost horizontal branch, checking for prey underneath from various vantage points (photo below).

Rufous (Nankeen) Night Heron using an horizontal branch to check for prey from various vantage points
[Macquarie Marshes NR, NSW, April 2011]

Rufous (Nankeen) Night Heron demanding to be fed by humans (photo courtesy of T. Rodoni)
[South Yunderup, WA, December 2013]

Food, Diet

The fact that this Rufous (Nankeen) Night Heron is being pursued by a White-breasted Woodswallow during their breeding season indicates that Night Herons may take other birds' nestlings
[Narrabri Lake, NSW, November 2012]

Call(s)/Song

For this species we have recorded the following call(s)/song. The interpretation of their meaning is our own; comments and suggestions for improvement are welcome.

These pages are largely based on our own observations and those of our contributors. The structure of these bird pages is explained HERE. For more salient facts on any bird species please refer to a field guide.

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