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Bird

Yellow-crowned Night-heron

Nyctanassa violacea

Lives in Louisiana all year and nests here. Found in all 64 parishes, across 14 habitats.

Here
All year
Nesting
Nests here
Range
All 64 parishes
Habitats
14

At a glance

Group
Birds
Here
All year
Nesting
Nests here
Range
All 64 parishes
Habitats
14
Habitat models
Summer, Winter

Where it lives

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

Habitats in Louisiana 14

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

1 of 14

Swamps

The Land of Evangeline
SummerWinterSouthern Coastal Plain Seepage Swamp and Baygall; West Gulf Coastal Plain Seepage Swamp and Baygall; East Gulf Coastal Plain Tidal Wooded Swamp; West Gulf Coastal Plain Near-Coast Large River Swamp; Lower Mississippi River Bottomland Depressions - Forest Modifier; Southern Coastal Plain Nonriverine Cypress Dome; Mississippi River Bottomland DepressionJoseph Rusling Meeker, The Land of Evangeline (1874): moss-hung trees over a still bayou in Louisiana swamp forest. Regional view: the painting does not name the exact site. Louisiana bayou country (Meeker, The Land of Evangeline, 1874)The Land of Evangeline, Joseph Rusling Meeker, 1874. Public domain. Source record.

Coastal dunes and beaches

Open sand of beaches, dunes and the hollows between them.

SummerWinterUnconsolidated Shore (Beach/Dune); Upper Texas Coast Beach; Louisiana Beach; Atlantic and Gulf Coastal Plain Interdunal Wetland

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

Coastal tidal marshes (salinity not stated)

Tidal marshes of the Atlantic and Gulf coasts where the source does not say whether the water is fresh, brackish or salt. A stated salinity files the marsh under freshwater tidal marshes or salt and brackish marshes instead.

SummerWinter

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.

SummerWinterMississippi River Riparian Forest; Mississippi River Low Floodplain (Bottomland) Forest; West Gulf Coastal Plain Small Stream and River Forest; West Gulf Coastal Plain Large River Floodplain Forest; Red River Large Floodplain Forest; Mississippi River Floodplain and Riparian Forest

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 Southern Loblolly-Hardwood Flatwoods; West Gulf Coastal Plain Pine-Hardwood Flatwoods; Lower Mississippi River Flatwoods; West Gulf Coastal Plain Nonriverine Wet Hardwood Flatwoods

Pine flatwoods

Flat, sandy Coastal Plain pine woodlands, wetter than sandhills and denser than savannas.

SummerWinterEast Gulf Coastal Plain Near-Coast Pine Flatwoods - Open Understory Modifier; East Gulf Coastal Plain Near-Coast Pine Flatwoods - Scrub/Shrub Understory Modifier; West Gulf Coastal Plain Wet Longleaf Pine Savanna and Flatwoods; East Gulf Coastal Plain Near-Coast Pine Flatwoods

Pine savannas

Open, fire-kept longleaf pine stands over grasses and wildflowers on wet to moist sandy soil.

WinterWest Gulf Coastal Plain Wet Longleaf Pine Savanna and Flatwoods

Ponds, lakes and their shores

Still water and its edges: ponds, lakes, millponds and reservoirs.

SummerWinterOpen Water (Fresh)

Seeps and springs

Places where groundwater keeps the soil or rock wet, such as seepage slopes and spring runs.

SummerWinterSouthern Coastal Plain Seepage Swamp and Baygall; West Gulf Coastal Plain Seepage Swamp and Baygall

Sounds, bays and tidal flats

Salt and brackish open water of sounds, bays and estuaries, with the mud and sand flats and seagrass beds that tides cover and uncover; the vegetated marsh is salt and brackish marshes.

SummerWinterOpen Water (Brackish/Salt)

Maritime forests and thickets

Salt-pruned forests and shrub thickets behind coastal dunes.

SummerWinterOnly within 500 m of water.Mississippi Delta Maritime Forest

Roadsides, fields and disturbed ground

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

SummerWinterOnly within 500 m of water.Developed, Open Space
Other habitats in its models (100)

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

In Louisiana 1

  • West Gulf Coastal Plain Chenier and Upper Texas Coastal Fringe Forest and Woodland Summer and winter, only within 500 m of water.
Elsewhere in the South (58)
  • 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 500 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 Maritime Forest Summer and winter, only within 500 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, only within 500 m of water.
  • 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 500 m of water.
  • East Gulf Coastal Plain Maritime Forest Summer and winter, only within 500 m of water.
  • East Gulf Coastal Plain Savanna and Wet Prairie Summer and winter.
  • East Gulf Coastal Plain Small Stream and River Floodplain Forest Summer and winter.
  • East-Central Texas Plains Pine Forest and Woodland Summer, only within 500 m of water.
  • East-Central Texas Plains Riparian Forest Summer.
  • Florida Big Bend Fresh-Oligohaline Tidal Marsh Summer and winter.
  • Florida Big Bend Salt-Brackish Tidal Marsh Summer and winter.
  • Florida Panhandle Beach Vegetation Summer and winter.
  • Floridian Highlands Freshwater Marsh Summer and winter.
  • Lower Mississippi River Dune Woodland and Forest Summer and winter.
  • Mississippi Sound Salt and Brackish Tidal Marsh Summer and winter.
  • Ozark-Ouachita Riparian Summer.
  • 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 500 m of water.
  • South Florida Shell Hash Beach Summer and winter.
  • South Florida Wet Marl Prairie Summer and winter.
  • South-Central Interior / Upper Coastal Plain Wet Flatwoods Summer and winter.
  • South-Central Interior Large Floodplain Summer and winter.
  • South-Central Interior Small Stream and Riparian Summer.
  • Southeast Florida Beach Summer and winter.
  • Southeast Florida Coastal Strand and Maritime Hammock Summer and winter.
  • Southern and Central Appalachian Bog and Fen Summer and winter.
  • Southern Coastal Plain Blackwater River Floodplain Forest Summer and winter.
  • Southern Coastal Plain Hydric Hammock Summer and winter.
  • Southern Coastal Plain Nonriverine Basin Swamp Summer and winter.
  • Southern Piedmont Small Floodplain and Riparian Forest Summer and winter.
  • Southwest Florida Beach Summer and winter.
  • Southwest Florida Coastal Strand and Maritime Hammock Summer and winter.
  • Texas Coastal Bend Beach Summer and winter.
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.
  • Northeastern Interior Pine Barrens Summer, only within 500 m of water.
  • Northern Atlantic Coastal Plain Basin Swamp and Wet Hardwood Forest Summer and winter.
Midwest (1)
  • North-Central Oak Barrens Summer, only within 500 m of water.
Land cover and other classes (35)
  • 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 Riparian - Forest Modifier Summer.
  • Central Interior and Appalachian Floodplain Systems Summer and winter.
  • Central Interior and Appalachian Riparian Systems Summer and winter.
  • Central Interior and Appalachian Shrub-Herbaceous Wetland Systems Summer.
  • Central Interior and Appalachian Swamp Systems Summer.
  • Developed, Low Intensity Summer and winter, only within 500 m of water.
  • Developed, Medium Intensity Summer and winter, only within 500 m of water.
  • East Gulf Coastal Plain Jackson Plain Dry Flatwoods - Open Understory Modifier Summer and winter, only within 500 m of water.
  • East Gulf Coastal Plain Large River Floodplain Forest - Forest Modifier Summer and winter.
  • 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 500 m of water.
  • East Gulf Coastal Plain Southern Depression Pondshore Summer and winter.
  • Eastern Great Plains Floodplain Systems Summer.
  • Open Water (Aquaculture) Summer and winter.
  • South-Central Interior Large Floodplain - Forest Modifier Summer.
  • South-Central Interior Large Floodplain - Herbaceous Modifier Summer and winter.
  • Southern Coastal Plain Nonriverine Basin Swamp - Okefenokee Bay/Gum Modifier Summer and winter.
  • Southern Coastal Plain Nonriverine Basin Swamp - Okefenokee Clethra Modifier Summer and winter.
  • Southern Coastal Plain Nonriverine Basin Swamp - Okefenokee Nupea Modifier Summer and winter.
  • Southern Coastal Plain Nonriverine Basin Swamp - Okefenokee Pine Modifier Summer and winter.
  • Southern Coastal Plain Nonriverine Basin Swamp - Okefenokee Taxodium Modifier Summer and winter.
  • Southern Piedmont Large Floodplain Forest - Forest Modifier Summer and winter.
  • Southern Piedmont/Ridge and Valley Upland Depression Swamp Summer and winter.
  • Tamaulipan Riparian Systems Summer.
  • Unconsolidated Shore Summer and winter.
  • Unconsolidated Shore (Lake/River/Pond) Summer and winter.
  • Western Great Plains Depressional Wetland Systems Summer.
  • Western Great Plains Floodplain Systems Summer.

All habitats

Seasons in Louisiana

  • Year-round: nests here, in 9 of 64 parishes.
  • Summer: nests here, in 61 of 64 parishes.

Also found in its main habitats

Its main habitats in Louisiana, 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.

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

Swamps

Birds 119

Plants 237

All of swamps in Louisiana

Floodplain and bottomland forests

Birds 108

Plants 267

All of floodplain and bottomland forests in Louisiana

Coastal dunes and beaches

Birds 129

Plants 84

All of coastal dunes and beaches in Louisiana

USGS Gap Analysis Project habitat models.

Sources