#1045 · 🐦 birds
Yellow-crowned Night Heron
🇳🇱 Geelkruinkwak ·Nyctanassa violacea
10 photos from iNaturalist (Creative Commons) · credits & licences
- 1. © Linda · CC BY-NC 4.0
- 2. © Thijs Valkenburg · CC BY-NC 4.0
- 3. © Scott Buckel · CC BY-NC 4.0
- 4. © Roberto González · CC BY-NC 4.0
- 5. © Anna · CC BY-NC 4.0
- 6. © Charles J. Sharp · CC BY-SA 4.0
- 7. © chrihag · CC BY-NC 4.0
- 8. © Omar Del Toro · CC BY-NC 4.0
- 9. © Frank Hensley · CC BY-NC 4.0
- 10. © Roberto González · CC BY-NC 4.0
what is it?
The yellow-crowned night heron ( Nyctanassa violacea , formerly in the genus Nycticorax ), is one of two species of night herons found in the Americas, the other one being the black-crowned night heron. It is known as the Bihoreau Violacé in French and the Pedrete Corona Clara in Spanish.
base stats
Bars compare against all animals on log scales: up to 300,000 Dutch and 600,000 worldwide sightings (the most-seen species), 150 t (blue whale), 30 m and 400 years (Greenland shark).
fun facts
- No confirmed wild sightings in the Netherlands on iNaturalist: you'd have to travel for this one.
- 87,412 observations worldwide on iNaturalist.
- Scientifically named in 1758 (268 years ago).
fact sheet
- English
- Yellow-crowned Night Heron
- Nederlands
- Geelkruinkwak
- scientific name
- Nyctanassa violacea
- class
- Aves
- order
- Pelecaniformes
- family
- Ardeidae
- IUCN Red List
- LC · least concern
- sightings in NL
- 0
- sightings in Europe
- 35
- sightings worldwide
- 87,412
- GBIF records in NL
- 10
- weight
- —
- length
- —
- lifespan
- —
- named
- 1758
IUCN in Dutch: niet bedreigd. Blank means the sources don't say.
relatives· Ardeidae
#0534 📷 7Grey Heron
🇳🇱 Blauwe Reiger
Ardea cinerea
LC 👀 7.5k in NL
#0568 📷 10Great Egret
🇳🇱 Grote zilverreiger
Ardea alba
LC 👀 2k in NL
#0612 📷 9Little Egret
🇳🇱 Kleine Zilverreiger
Egretta garzetta
LC 👀 634 in NL
#0675 📷 8Purple Heron
🇳🇱 Purperreiger
Ardea purpurea
LC 👀 215 in NL
#0701 📷 10Western Cattle-Egret
🇳🇱 Koereiger
Ardea ibis
LC 👀 155 in NL
#0703 📷 7Eurasian Bittern
🇳🇱 Roerdomp
Botaurus stellaris
LC 👀 153 in NL
#0711 📷 8Black-crowned Night Heron
🇳🇱 Kwak
Nycticorax nycticorax
LC 👀 137 in NL
#0804 📷 9Little Bittern
🇳🇱 Woudaap
Botaurus minutus
LC 👀 23 in NL
Sources: iNaturalist taxon 4999, Wikidata Q764282, GBIF 2480953, Wikipedia (EN), Wikipedia (NL). Intro text from Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0).Updated 2026-10-24.