Bird

Black-crowned Night-heron

Nycticorax nycticorax

Lives in Alabama all year and nests here. Found in 23 of 67 counties, across 20 habitats.

Here: All year
Nesting: Nests here
Range: 23 of 67 counties
Habitats: 20

Hand-coloured plate of the Black-crowned Night-heron by John James Audubon, The Birds of America, Havell plate 236 — **Illustration**. John James Audubon. CC0 1.0 (NGA Open Access). The Birds of America, Havell plate 236.

At a glance

Group: Birds
Here: All year
Nesting: Nests here
Range: 23 of 67 counties
Habitats: 20
Habitat models: Summer, Winter

Where it lives

The places its habitat model includes. It is not found everywhere a habitat occurs.

Habitats in Alabama 20

Each habitat page lists the plants and wildlife also found there.

1 of 20

SummerWinterUnconsolidated Shore (Beach/Dune); Florida Panhandle Beach Vegetation; Atlantic and Gulf Coastal Plain Interdunal WetlandGeorge Catlin, White Sand Bluffs, on Santa Rosa Island, Near Pensacola (1834-35): high white dunes with scattered clumps of dune plants above the Gulf. Shown: Santa Rosa Island near Pensacola, Florida, a neighboring state.White Sand Bluffs, on Santa Rosa Island, Near Pensacola, George Catlin (1796-1872), 1834-1835. Public domain. Source record.

SummerWinterSouthern Coastal Plain Hydric HammockWinslow Homer, In the Jungle, Florida (1904): cabbage palms, saw palmetto and fallen trunks in a dense, shady hammock, with a wildcat in the branches. Regional view: the painting does not name the exact site. Shown: Florida (Winslow Homer, In the Jungle, Florida, 1904), a neighboring state.In the Jungle, Florida, Winslow Homer, 1904. Public domain. Source record.

SummerWinterMartin Johnson Heade, On the San Sebastian River (c. 1883-90): a tidal river winding through flat marsh under storm clouds at sunset. Shown: San Sebastian River, St. Augustine, Florida, a neighboring state.On the San Sebastian River, Floridalabel QS:Len,"On the San Sebastian River, Florida", Martin Johnson Heade, c. 1883-1890. Public domain. Source record.

SummerWinterSouthern Coastal Plain Nonriverine Basin Swamp - Okefenokee Nupea ModifierMartin Johnson Heade, The Great Florida Marsh (1886): open marsh and lily-dotted water beneath live oaks and cabbage palms. Regional view: the painting does not name the exact site. Shown: Florida (Heade, The Great Florida Marsh, 1886; North Carolina Museum of Art), a neighboring state.The Great Florida Marsh, Martin Johnson Heade, 1886. Public domain. Source record.

SummerWinterEast Gulf Coastal Plain Savanna and Wet PrairieGeorge Catlin, Beautiful Savannah in the Pine Woods of Florida (1834-35): an open grassy savanna with a shallow pond, ringed by tall pines, with palmettos and red wildflowers. Regional view: the painting does not name the exact site. Shown: Pine woods of Florida (George Catlin, 1834-35; Smithsonian American Art Museum), a neighboring state.Beautiful Savannah in the Pine Woods of Florida, George Catlin, 1834-1835. Public domain. Source record.

SummerWinterOpen Water (Fresh)Martin Johnson Heade, Florida Sunrise: still water and a palm-fringed shore glowing at dawn. Regional view: the painting does not name the exact site. Shown: Florida (Heade, Florida Sunrise, c. 1890-1900), a neighboring state.Florida Sunrisetitle QS:P1476,en:"Florida Sunrise"label QS:Len,"Florida Sunrise", Martin Johnson Heade, c. 1890-1900. Public domain. Source record.

SummerWinterOpen Water (Brackish/Salt)Thomas Moran, Fort George Island (1878): a tidal shore of wet sand and shallow water at the river mouth, with cabbage palms and a beached ship. Shown: Fort George Island, Florida (Thomas Moran, 1878; Smithsonian American Art Museum), a neighboring state.Fort George Island, Florida, Thomas Moran, 1878. Public domain. Source record.

SummerWinterCentral Interior and Appalachian Riparian Systems; Cumberland Riverscour; South-Central Interior Small Stream and RiparianWinslow Homer, Blue Spring, Florida (1890): clear blue spring water under overhanging palms. Shown: Blue Spring, Florida (Winslow Homer, 1890; National Gallery of Art), a neighboring state.Blue Spring, Florida, Winslow Homer, 1890. Public domain. Source record.

SummerWinterSouthern Coastal Plain Nonriverine Basin Swamp - Okefenokee Taxodium Modifier; Southern Coastal Plain Nonriverine Basin Swamp - Okefenokee Bay/Gum Modifier; Southern Coastal Plain Seepage Swamp and Baygall; East Gulf Coastal Plain Tidal Wooded Swamp; Central Interior and Appalachian Swamp Systems; Southern Coastal Plain Nonriverine Basin Swamp; Southern Coastal Plain Nonriverine Cypress Dome; Southern Piedmont/Ridge and Valley Upland Depression SwampFlorida, Sunset on the Ocklawaha (1899): a dark swamp-lined river at sunset, with cypress and hardwoods crowding both banks. Shown: Ocklawaha River, Florida, a neighboring state.Florida, Sunset on the Ocklawaha, Detroit Photographic Co. (chromolithograph), 1899. Public domain. Source record.

Coastal Plain seepage bogs

Open, wet, seepage-fed bogs of the Coastal Plain and Sandhills, often with pitcher plants.

SummerWinterSouthern Coastal Plain Herbaceous Seepage Bog

Disturbed and introduced wetlands

Wet ground taken over by weedy or introduced plants after disturbance, such as common reed, Chinese tallow or tamarisk stands; the upland counterpart is roadsides, fields and disturbed ground.

SummerWinter

Floodplain and bottomland forests

Forests on low ground beside rivers and streams that flood from time to time.

SummerWinterEast Gulf Coastal Plain Large River Floodplain Forest - Forest Modifier; South-Central Interior Large Floodplain - Forest Modifier; Southern Piedmont Large Floodplain Forest - Forest Modifier; Central Interior and Appalachian Floodplain Systems; Central Interior and Appalachian Riparian Systems; Southern Piedmont Small Floodplain and Riparian Forest; South-Central Interior Small Stream and Riparian; East Gulf Coastal Plain Small Stream and River Floodplain Forest; Southern Coastal Plain Blackwater River Floodplain Forest; South-Central Interior Large Floodplain

Hardwood and oak flatwoods

Flat, poorly drained uplands and terraces with oaks, sweetgum and sometimes loblolly pine, wet in winter and dry in summer, but neither a floodplain nor a swamp.

SummerWinterEast Gulf Coastal Plain Jackson Plain Dry Flatwoods - Open Understory Modifier; East Gulf Coastal Plain Southern Loblolly-Hardwood Flatwoods; South-Central Interior / Upper Coastal Plain Wet Flatwoods

Salt and brackish marshes

Coastal marshes flooded by salty or brackish tides.

SummerWinterMississippi Sound Salt and Brackish Tidal Marsh

SummerWinterOnly within 120 m of water.East Gulf Coastal Plain Near-Coast Pine Flatwoods - Open Understory Modifier; East Gulf Coastal Plain Near-Coast Pine Flatwoods - Scrub/Shrub Understory Modifier; East Gulf Coastal Plain Near-Coast Pine FlatwoodsGeorge Inness, Georgia Pines (1890): tall, straight pines over an open, grassy floor in a south Georgia pine woods. Regional view: the painting does not name the exact site. Shown: Georgia pine woods (George Inness, 1890; site not named), a neighboring state.Georgia Pines, George Inness (1825-1894), 1890. Public domain. Source record.

Forest edges and thickets

Borders of forests, clearings and shrubby thickets.

SummerWinterOnly within 120 m of water.Disturbed/Successional - Shrub Regeneration; Harvested Forest - Shrub Regeneration

Maritime forests and thickets

Salt-pruned forests and shrub thickets behind coastal dunes.

SummerWinterOnly within 120 m of water.East Gulf Coastal Plain Maritime Forest

Moist forests

Forests on moist but not wet ground, such as rich slopes and ravines.

SummerWinterOnly within 120 m of water.East Gulf Coastal Plain Northern Mesic Hardwood Forest

Prairies and grasslands

Open, grass-dominated places kept open by fire, grazing or thin soil, from tallgrass prairie to Piedmont prairies.

SummerWinterOnly within 120 m of water.East Gulf Coastal Plain Black Belt Calcareous Prairie and Woodland - Herbaceous Modifier

Roadsides, fields and disturbed ground

Ground opened by people: roadsides, old fields, pastures, fencerows and lots.

SummerWinterOnly within 120 m of water.Developed, Open Space; Cultivated Cropland; Disturbed/Successional - Grass/Forb Regeneration; Ruderal Upland - Old Field

Other habitats in its models (131)

Land cover, or classes with no habitat page in Alabama. Those recorded in Alabama first, the rest by region.

Elsewhere in the South (82)

Atlantic Coastal Plain Brownwater Stream Floodplain Forest Summer and winter.
Atlantic Coastal Plain Central Fresh-Oligohaline Tidal Marsh Summer and winter.
Atlantic Coastal Plain Central Maritime Forest Summer and winter, only within 120 m of water.
Atlantic Coastal Plain Central Salt and Brackish Tidal Marsh Summer and winter.
Atlantic Coastal Plain Embayed Region Tidal Freshwater Marsh Summer and winter.
Atlantic Coastal Plain Embayed Region Tidal Salt and Brackish Marsh Summer and winter.
Atlantic Coastal Plain Indian River Lagoon Tidal Marsh Summer and winter.
Atlantic Coastal Plain Large Natural Lakeshore Summer and winter.
Atlantic Coastal Plain Northern Tidal Wooded Swamp Summer and winter.
Atlantic Coastal Plain Peatland Pocosin Summer and winter.
Atlantic Coastal Plain Sea Island Beach Summer and winter.
Atlantic Coastal Plain Small Blackwater River Floodplain Forest Summer and winter.
Atlantic Coastal Plain Small Brownwater River Floodplain Forest Summer and winter.
Atlantic Coastal Plain Southern Beach Summer and winter.
Atlantic Coastal Plain Southern Dune and Maritime Grassland Summer and winter.
Atlantic Coastal Plain Southern Maritime Forest Summer and winter, only within 120 m of water.
Atlantic Coastal Plain Southern Tidal Wooded Swamp Summer and winter.
Atlantic Coastal Plain Southern Wet Pine Savanna and Flatwoods Summer and winter.
Atlantic Coastal Plain Xeric River Dune Summer and winter.
Central and South Texas Coastal Fringe Forest and Woodland Summer and winter, only within 120 m of water.
Central and Upper Texas Coast Dune and Coastal Grassland Summer and winter.
Central Atlantic Coastal Plain Wet Longleaf Pine Savanna and Flatwoods Summer and winter.
Central Florida Herbaceous Pondshore Summer and winter.
Central Florida Herbaceous Seep Summer and winter.
Central Florida Pine Flatwoods Summer and winter, only within 120 m of water.
Crosstimbers Oak Forest and Woodland Summer and winter, only within 120 m of water.
East-Central Texas Plains Pine Forest and Woodland Summer and winter, only within 120 m of water.
East-Central Texas Plains Post Oak Savanna and Woodland Summer and winter, only within 120 m of water.
East-Central Texas Plains Riparian Forest Summer and winter.
Florida Big Bend Fresh-Oligohaline Tidal Marsh Summer and winter.
Florida Big Bend Salt-Brackish Tidal Marsh Summer and winter.
Florida Peninsula Inland Scrub Summer and winter, only within 120 m of water.
Floridian Highlands Freshwater Marsh Summer and winter.
Louisiana Beach Summer and winter.
Lower Mississippi River Dune Woodland and Forest Summer and winter.
Lower Mississippi River Flatwoods Summer and winter, only within 120 m of water.
Mississippi Delta Maritime Forest Summer and winter, only within 120 m of water.
Mississippi River Alluvial Plain Dry-Mesic Loess Slope Forest Summer and winter, only within 120 m of water.
Mississippi River Bottomland Depression Summer and winter.
Mississippi River Low Floodplain (Bottomland) Forest Summer and winter.
Mississippi River Riparian Forest Summer and winter.
Northern Crowley's Ridge Sand Forest Summer and winter, only within 120 m of water.
Ouachita Montane Oak Forest Summer and winter, only within 120 m of water.
Ozark-Ouachita Riparian Summer and winter.
Ozark-Ouachita Shortleaf Pine-Bluestem Woodland Summer and winter, only within 120 m of water.
Ozark-Ouachita Shortleaf Pine-Oak Forest and Woodland Summer and winter, only within 120 m of water.
Red River Large Floodplain Forest Summer and winter.
South Florida Bayhead Swamp Summer and winter.
South Florida Cypress Dome Summer and winter.
South Florida Dwarf Cypress Savanna Summer and winter.
South Florida Everglades Sawgrass Marsh Summer and winter.
South Florida Freshwater Slough and Gator Hole Summer and winter.
South Florida Hardwood Hammock Summer and winter.
South Florida Mangrove Swamp Summer and winter.
South Florida Pine Flatwoods Summer and winter, only within 120 m of water.
South Florida Shell Hash Beach Summer and winter.
South Florida Wet Marl Prairie Summer and winter.
Southeast Florida Beach Summer and winter.
Southeast Florida Coastal Strand and Maritime Hammock Summer and winter.
Southern Crowley's Ridge Mesic Loess Slope Forest Summer and winter, only within 120 m of water.
Southwest Florida Beach Summer and winter.
Southwest Florida Coastal Strand and Maritime Hammock Summer and winter.
Tamaulipan Calcareous Thornscrub Summer and winter, only within 120 m of water.
Tamaulipan Mixed Deciduous Thornscrub Summer and winter, only within 120 m of water.
Texas Coastal Bend Beach Summer and winter.
Texas Saline Coastal Prairie Summer and winter.
Texas-Louisiana Coastal Prairie Summer and winter, only within 120 m of water.
Upper Texas Coast Beach Summer and winter.
West Gulf Coastal Plain Chenier and Upper Texas Coastal Fringe Forest and Woodland Summer and winter, only within 120 m of water.
West Gulf Coastal Plain Large River Floodplain Forest Summer and winter.
West Gulf Coastal Plain Mesic Hardwood Forest Summer and winter, only within 120 m of water.
West Gulf Coastal Plain Near-Coast Large River Swamp Summer and winter.
West Gulf Coastal Plain Nonriverine Wet Hardwood Flatwoods Summer and winter.
West Gulf Coastal Plain Pine-Hardwood Flatwoods Summer and winter, only within 120 m of water.
West Gulf Coastal Plain Pine-Hardwood Forest Summer and winter, only within 120 m of water.
West Gulf Coastal Plain Sandhill Oak and Shortleaf Pine Forest and Woodland Summer and winter, only within 120 m of water.
West Gulf Coastal Plain Seepage Swamp and Baygall Summer and winter.
West Gulf Coastal Plain Small Stream and River Forest Summer and winter.
West Gulf Coastal Plain Southern Calcareous Prairie Summer and winter, only within 120 m of water.
West Gulf Coastal Plain Upland Longleaf Pine Forest and Woodland Summer and winter, only within 120 m of water.
West Gulf Coastal Plain Wet Longleaf Pine Savanna and Flatwoods Summer and winter.
Western Great Plains Mesquite Woodland and Shrubland Summer and winter, only within 120 m of water.

Northeast (5)

Atlantic Coastal Plain Northern Fresh and Oligohaline Tidal Marsh Summer and winter.
Atlantic Coastal Plain Northern Tidal Salt Marsh Summer and winter.
North-Central Interior Wet Flatwoods Summer and winter.
Northeastern Interior Dry-Mesic Oak Forest Summer and winter, only within 120 m of water.
Northern Atlantic Coastal Plain Basin Swamp and Wet Hardwood Forest Summer and winter.

Midwest (9)

Central Mixedgrass Prairie Summer and winter, only within 120 m of water.
Central Tallgrass Prairie Summer and winter, only within 120 m of water.
North-Central Interior Beech-Maple Forest Summer and winter, only within 120 m of water.
North-Central Interior Dry-Mesic Oak Forest and Woodland Summer and winter, only within 120 m of water.
North-Central Interior Maple-Basswood Forest Summer and winter, only within 120 m of water.
North-Central Interior Oak Savanna Summer and winter, only within 120 m of water.
North-Central Interior Sand and Gravel Tallgrass Prairie Summer and winter, only within 120 m of water.
North-Central Oak Barrens Summer and winter, only within 120 m of water.
Western Great Plains Wooded Draw and Ravine Summer and winter, only within 120 m of water.

Land cover and other classes (35)

Arkansas Valley Prairie and Woodland Summer and winter, only within 120 m of water.
Atlantic Coastal Plain Blackwater Stream Floodplain Forest - Forest Modifier Summer and winter.
Atlantic Coastal Plain Clay-Based Carolina Bay Forested Wetland Summer and winter.
Atlantic Coastal Plain Clay-Based Carolina Bay Herbaceous Wetland Summer and winter.
Atlantic Coastal Plain Depression Pondshore Summer and winter.
Atlantic Coastal Plain Nonriverine Swamp and Wet Hardwood Forest - Oak Dominated Modifier Summer and winter.
Atlantic Coastal Plain Nonriverine Swamp and Wet Hardwood Forest - Taxodium/Nyssa Modifier Summer and winter.
Atlantic Coastal Plain Streamhead Seepage Swamp - Pocosin - and Baygall Summer and winter.
Central Appalachian Floodplain - Forest Modifier Summer and winter.
Central Appalachian Riparian - Forest Modifier Summer and winter.
Central Interior and Appalachian Shrub-Herbaceous Wetland Systems Summer and winter.
Developed, Low Intensity Summer and winter, only within 120 m of water.
Developed, Medium Intensity Summer and winter, only within 120 m of water.
East Gulf Coastal Plain Large River Floodplain Forest - Herbaceous Modifier Summer and winter.
East Gulf Coastal Plain Near-Coast Pine Flatwoods - Offsite Hardwood Modifier Summer and winter, only within 120 m of water.
East Gulf Coastal Plain Southern Depression Pondshore Summer and winter.
Eastern Great Plains Floodplain Systems Summer and winter.
Eastern Great Plains Wet Meadow, Prairie, and Marsh Summer and winter.
Harvested Forest - Grass/Forb Regeneration Summer and winter, only within 120 m of water.
Introduced Upland Vegetation - Forbland Summer and winter, only within 120 m of water.
Introduced Upland Vegetation - Perennial Grassland Summer and winter, only within 120 m of water.
Introduced Upland Vegetation - Treed Summer and winter, only within 120 m of water.
Lower Mississippi River Bottomland Depressions - Forest Modifier Summer and winter.
Mississippi River Floodplain and Riparian Forest Summer and winter.
Modified/Managed Southern Tall Grassland Summer and winter, only within 120 m of water.
Open Water (Aquaculture) Summer and winter.
Recently Burned Shrubland Summer and winter, only within 120 m of water.
South-Central Interior Large Floodplain - Herbaceous Modifier Summer and winter.
Southern Coastal Plain Nonriverine Basin Swamp - Okefenokee Clethra Modifier Summer and winter.
Southern Coastal Plain Nonriverine Basin Swamp - Okefenokee Pine Modifier Summer and winter.
Tamaulipan Riparian Systems Summer and winter.
Texas-Louisiana Coastal Prairie Slough Summer and winter.
Unconsolidated Shore Summer and winter.
Unconsolidated Shore (Lake/River/Pond) Summer and winter.
Western Great Plains Floodplain Systems Summer and winter.

All habitats

Seasons in Alabama

Year-round: nests here, in 2 of 67 counties.
Summer: nests here, in 23 of 67 counties.

Also found in its main habitats

Its main habitats in Alabama, by how much of its habitat model each one is, with the birds most characteristic of each and the plants that grow wild there. Shared habitat, not food.

Black-crowned Night-heron uses many habitats in Alabama; these are its 3 most characteristic.