White-backed Night Heron

Gorsachius leuconotus

Inland rivers. Rufous neck and mantle; black cap; yellow facial skin and legs. Feeds at night

Bitterns, Egrets, Herons

Locally Rare

Description

Common resident and visitor. Adult has characteristic black cap and back contrasting with white and grey wings and underparts; nape-plumes may be absent. Immature can be mistaken for adult of Great Bittern but is smaller, with orange eyes and white spots to the tips of the feathers on the upper parts. Single birds, pairs or groups occur on river backwaters, dams and lagoons. Roosts in trees or waterside vegetation by day. Some roosts may harbour many of the birds at a time. It emerges late afternoon in preparation for nocturnal hunting, and is often heard flying overhead at night, uttering a high-pitched and slightly rasping ‘wok’. Nomadic when not breeding.

Quick Facts

Bird Family

Water-associated birds with long bills and necks and long legs. When breeding, many species have long, filamentous plumes on their back or lower breast (or both), while others have more or less permanent long plumes on their napes. In flight, they tuck their heads into their shoulders, thus differing from storks, ibises and cranes. They seldom soar. Many herons are solitary in habit and secretive; others are gregarious and seen more frequently. Most perch in trees and nest in trees or reeds, or even on the ground. All have harsh, squawking voices heard mostly when flushed. Four comparative silhouettes represent (a): Dwarf Bittern; (b): Squacco Heron; (c): Little Egret; and (d): Grey Heron.