| Kingdom | Phylum | Class | Order | Family |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ANIMALIA | CHORDATA | AVES | CICONIIFORMES | ARDEIDAE |
| Scientific Name: | Nycticorax nycticorax | ||||||
| Species Authority: | (Linnaeus, 1758) | ||||||
Common Name/s:
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| Red List Category & Criteria: | Least Concern ver 3.1 | ||||||
| Year Assessed: | 2009 | ||||||
| Assessor/s: | BirdLife International | ||||||
| Reviewer/s: | Bird, J., Butchart, S. | ||||||
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Justification: This species has an extremely large range, and hence does not approach the thresholds for Vulnerable under the range size criterion (Extent of Occurrence <20,000 km2 combined with a declining or fluctuating range size, habitat extent/quality, or population size and a small number of locations or severe fragmentation). Despite the fact that the population trend appears to be decreasing, the decline is not believed to be sufficiently rapid to approach the thresholds for Vulnerable under the population trend criterion (>30% decline over ten years or three generations). The population size is very large, and hence does not approach the thresholds for Vulnerable under the population size criterion (<10,000 mature individuals with a continuing decline estimated to be >10% in ten years or three generations, or with a specified population structure). For these reasons the species is evaluated as Least Concern. |
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| History: |
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| Countries: |
Native:
Afghanistan; Albania; Algeria; Angola; Anguilla; Antigua and Barbuda; Argentina; Armenia; Aruba; Austria; Azerbaijan; Bahamas; Bahrain; Bangladesh; Barbados; Belarus; Belgium; Belize; Benin; Bermuda; Bhutan; Bolivia; Bosnia and Herzegovina; Botswana; Brazil; Brunei Darussalam; Bulgaria; Burkina Faso; Burundi; Cambodia; Cameroon; Canada; Cayman Islands; Central African Republic; Chad; Chile; China; Colombia; Comoros; Congo; Congo, The Democratic Republic of the; Costa Rica; Côte d'Ivoire; Croatia; Cuba; Cyprus; Czech Republic; Dominica; Dominican Republic; Ecuador; Egypt; El Salvador; Equatorial Guinea; Eritrea; Ethiopia; Falkland Islands (Malvinas); France; French Guiana; Gabon; Gambia; Georgia; Germany; Ghana; Greece; Grenada; Guadeloupe; Guam; Guatemala; Guinea; Guinea-Bissau; Guyana; Haiti; Honduras; Hong Kong; Hungary; India; Indonesia; Iran, Islamic Republic of; Iraq; Israel; Italy; Jamaica; Japan; Jordan; Kazakhstan; Kenya; Korea, Republic of; Kuwait; Lao People's Democratic Republic; Lebanon; Lesotho; Liberia; Macao; Macedonia, the former Yugoslav Republic of; Madagascar; Malawi; Malaysia; Mali; Malta; Martinique; Mauritania; Mayotte; Mexico; Moldova; Montenegro; Montserrat; Morocco; Mozambique; Myanmar; Namibia; Nepal; Netherlands; Netherlands Antilles; Nicaragua; Niger; Nigeria; Northern Mariana Islands; Oman; Pakistan; Palau; Palestinian Territory, Occupied; Panama; Paraguay; Peru; Philippines; Poland; Portugal; Puerto Rico; Qatar; Romania; Russian Federation; Rwanda; Saint Kitts and Nevis; Saint Lucia; Saint Martin (French part); Saint Vincent and the Grenadines; Saudi Arabia; Senegal; Serbia; Sierra Leone; Singapore; Slovakia; Slovenia; Somalia; South Africa; South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands; Spain; Sri Lanka; Sudan; Suriname; Swaziland; Switzerland; Syrian Arab Republic; Taiwan, Province of China; Tajikistan; Tanzania, United Republic of; Thailand; Timor-Leste; Togo; Trinidad and Tobago; Tunisia; Turkey; Turkmenistan; Turks and Caicos Islands; Uganda; Ukraine; United Arab Emirates; United States; Uruguay; Uzbekistan; Venezuela; Viet Nam; Virgin Islands, British; Virgin Islands, U.S.; Western Sahara; Yemen; Zambia; Zimbabwe
Vagrant:
Australia; Cape Verde; Cocos (Keeling) Islands; Denmark; Djibouti; Faroe Islands; Finland; French Southern Territories (the); Gibraltar; Greenland; Iceland; Ireland; Korea, Democratic People's Republic of; Kyrgyzstan; Libyan Arab Jamahiriya; Liechtenstein; Luxembourg; Maldives; Mongolia; Norway; Russian Federation; Saint Helena; Saint Pierre and Miquelon; Sao Tomé and Principe; Seychelles; Sweden; United Kingdom
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| Range Map: | Click here to open the map viewer and explore range. |
| Habitat and Ecology: | Behaviour Northern populations of this species are migratory, with those breeding in the western Palearctic travelling on a broad front across the Sahara1 and those breeding in North American travelling on a narrow front along the Atlantic and Pacific coasts2. Post-breeding southward movements occur from September to October and return northward movements occur from March to May2. Tropical populations are not migratory but may undergo seasonal post-breeding dispersive movements1. In temperate regions breeding occurs in the local spring, with tropical and subtropical nesting generally coinciding with the rains2. The species usually nests in small numbers7 in single- or mixed-species colonies1, although sometimes groups may reach several thousand pairs1. When nesting within mixed-species colonies the species tends to form monospecific clusters2. The species's aggregatory behaviour outside of the breeding season varies much throughout its range, some populations (e.g. in America) remaining highly gregarious throughout the year7 and gathering in flocks of hundreds or even thousands to roost1, others (e.g. Palearctic breeders) being largely solitary except when roosting or on migration7 (roosting flocks of 2-6 to 200 are known in Africa5 and small flocks occur on migration)1. The species is largely crepuscular and nocturnal, but may feed diurnally especially during the breeding season1. Habitat The species inhabits fresh, brackish or saline waters with aquatic vegetation and bamboo or trees (e.g. pine, oak or mangroves) for roosting and nesting in1, showing a preference for islands or predator-free areas for nesting sites2. It occupies the forested margins of shallow rivers, streams, lagoons, pools, ponds, lakes, marshes and mangroves and may feed on pastures, reservoirs, canals, aquaculture ponds1 and rice-fields (up to 96 % of a colony's food resources may be taken from nearby rice-fields)2. On migration the species may also frequent dry grasslands or marine coasts1, kelp beds2 and estuaries6. It breeds up to 4,800 m (Chile)2 but is more common at elevations of up to c.2,000 m7. Diet It is an opportunistic feeder taking fish, frogs, tadpoles, turtles, snakes, lizards, adult and larval insects1 (e.g. beetles, bugs, grasshoppers, crickets, flies and dragonflies)2, spiders, crustaceans, molluscs, leeches, small rodents, bats and the eggs and chicks of other bird species1. Breeding site The nest is platform constructed of sticks and vegetation1, 2 placed 2-50 m above water or on dry ground near water7 in trees, bushes, reedbeds, on cliff ledges1 (overhanging rivers)6 and on the ground1 in protected sites2. The species nests close together in single- and mixed-species colonies1 with as many as 20-30 pairs in the same tree2. Colony sites may be reused in consecutive years or flocks may move to new sites (usually such movements are a result of nesting trees being destroyed due to the colony's nesting activities)2. Colony sites are dispersed throughout the landscape in relation to distance from feeding areas2. Management information A study carried out in north-west Italy suggests that existing nesting sites should be protected and that breeding habitats should be actively managed in order to maintain suitable habitat characteristics13. The creation of a network of new nesting sites spaced at 4-10 km in relation to available foraging habitats in zones currently without suitable nesting sites is also recommended13. |
| Systems: | Terrestrial; Freshwater; Marine |
| Major Threat(s): | The species is threatened by wetland drainage and destruction1, 2 and by drought in wintering areas11. It is highly susceptible to pesticides1, 2, 12 such as organophosphates, carbamates12 and DDE (a breakdown product of DDT) which negatively affect hatching success2. There are also cases of genetic damage to chicks as a result of petroleum contamination4. The species is susceptible to avian influenza8 and Newcastle disease so may be threatened by future outbreaks9. It is also persecuted (anti-predation killing) at aquaculture facilities due to its depredation on fish stocks2, and has suffered declines due to the exploitation of chicks from nesting colonies in the past1. Utilisation Chicks of the species are still taken for food in some areas (e.g. Madagascar)2, 3 and adults are hunted and traded at traditional medicine markets in Nigeria10. |
| Citation: | BirdLife International 2009. Nycticorax nycticorax. In: IUCN 2011. IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Version 2011.2. <www.iucnredlist.org>. Downloaded on 04 February 2012. |
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